Liver governs free coursing

The liver has the function of ensuring the smooth flow of qì around the body and healthy emotional responses. Wood in the five phases, thrives by orderly reaching. The liver belongs to wood, and its orderly reaching is seen in its governing of free coursing. Free coursing is observed in qì dynamic, bile secretion and discharge, and in emotional life.

Qì dynamic (气机 qì jī): The liver’s governing of free coursing is reflected in the regularity and smoothness of qì dynamic. When this function is normal, qì dynamic is smooth and regular so that qì and blood remain in harmony, the channels are kept free, and the organs all function normally. When it is impaired, qì dynamic is disturbed and a whole variety of diseases may arise as a result. If liver free coursing is deficient, liver qì becomes depressed in the liver itself and its associated channel, distending pain develops in the chest and rib-side or lesser abdomen or the breasts become painfully swollen. If liver qì invades the stomach, such signs as attacks of pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, vomiting, and belching appear; if liver qì invades the spleen, there is distending pain in the chest, rib-side, and abdomen, with rumbling intestines and diarrhea. In severe cases, qì stagnation may lead to blood stasis and the development of concretions, accumulations, or glomus lump. Transformation of depressed qì into fire may cause wearing of the blood or frenetic blood movement affecting the liver’s blood-storing function.

Bile: (胆汁 dǎn zhī) The gallbladder is located behind the right lobe of the liver and stores bile. It is physically connected to the liver, interlinked with it through the homing and netting connections between the channels of the two organs, and stands in exterior-interior relationship with the liver. Production and secretion of bile depends on surplus qì from the liver being channeled into the gallbladder, where it then accumulates and forms into bile. This means that bile secretion and discharge represents an important aspect of the liver’s function of governing free coursing. Disturbances of free coursing may thus lead to irregularities in bile secretion and discharge, characterized by jaundice, bitter taste in the mouth, vomiting of yellow fluid, distending pain in the rib-side, flatus, and reduced food intake.

Emotional life (情志 qíng zhì): Joy, anger, worry, thought, sorrow, fear, and fright are the seven affects, which are natural human responses to the environment. Chinese medicine regards the seven affects as capable of influencing the functions of the bowels and viscera. This is called internal damage by the seven affects or simply affect damage. Especially vulnerable is the free coursing function of the liver. Impairment of free coursing can lead not only to disturbances of qì dynamic and secretion and discharge of bile but also to emotional disturbances such as mental depression or impatience, agitation, and irascibility. These three aspects of free coursing are clearly interrelated. Impairment of qì dynamic may affect either emotional activity or the secretion and discharge of bile. Emotional disturbance may similarly affect qì dynamic. Disturbances of bile secretion and discharge can cause spleen, stomach, and intestinal dysfunction and thereby upset qì dynamic, which in turn may affect normal mental and emotional activity. See impaired liver free coursing.