Liver qì invading the spleen

Also liver-wood exploiting the spleen. A form of liver-spleen disharmony in which liver free coursing is excessive and liver qì moves cross counterflow and affects the spleen. Liver qì invading the spleen is characterized by headache, irascibility, bitter taste in the mouth, oppression in the chest and rib-side, glomus and fullness after eating, sloppy diarrhea, and a moderate stringlike pulse. This pattern differs from liver qì invading the stomach by a predominance of spleen signs such as distension and diarrhea.

Medicinal therapy: Use Pain and Diarrhea Formula (痛泻要方 tòng xiè yào fāng) plus corydalis (Corydalis Rhizoma, 延胡索 yán hú suǒ) and costusroot (Aucklandiae Radix, 木香 mù xiāng).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, SP, and ST. Needle with supplementation at BL-20 (Spleen Transport, 脾俞 pí shù), CV-12 (Center Stomach Duct, 中脘 zhōng wǎn), LR-13 (Camphorwood Gate, 章门 zhāng mén), ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), SP-3 (Supreme White, 太白 tài bái), and SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo); and with drainage or even supplementation and drainage at BL-18 (Liver Transport, 肝俞 gān shù), LR-14 (Cycle Gate, 期门 qī mén), PC-6 (Inner Pass, 内关 nèi guān), LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), and GB-34 (Yáng Mound Spring, 阳陵泉 yáng líng quán),