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Liver-kidney yīn vacuity
肝肾阴虚 〔肝腎陰虛〕gān shèn yīn xū
Also liver-kidney depletion (肝肾亏损 gān shèn kuī sǔn )
A disease pattern chiefly characterized by dizziness; tinnitus; limp aching lumbus and knees; dull scorching rib-side pain; insomnia; vacuity heat signs.
Description: Dizzy head and vision; tinnitus; forgetfulness; insomnia and profuse dreaming; dry mouth and pharynx; limp aching lumbus and knees; dull scorching rib-side pain; vexing heat in the five hearts; reddening of the cheeks; night sweating; seminal emission; scant menstruation; red tongue with little fur; a pulse that is fine and stringlike.
Diseases: Rib-side pain; lumbar pain; vacuity taxation.
Pathogenesis: Insufficiency of yīn humor in the liver and kidney giving rise to internal heat.
The liver stores the blood, while the kidney stores essence. Blood and essence are mutually engendering and thus are said to be of the same source. Hence, the liver and kidney are also said to be of the same source. Insufficiency of yīn often develops in both viscera. Kidney yīn vacuity commonly spreads to the liver by water failing to moisten wood.
- enduring illness;
- excessive sexual activity;
- internal fire arising when affect-mind excesses cause qì depression that transforms into fire;
- advanced-stage warm-heat disease.
Analysis of signs
- General signs of yīn vacuity with internal heat: Dry mouth and pharynx; reddening of the cheeks; tidal heat effusion; vexing heat in the five hearts; insomnia and profuse dreaming; and night sweating.
- Failure of liver and kidney yīn to ascend to provide luxuriance for the head and eyes: Dizzy head and vision; tinnitus; and forgetfulness.
- Yīn depletion preventing the thoroughfare (chōng) and controlling (rèn) vessels from being kept full: Scant menstruation.
- Frenetic stirring of the ministerial fire: Dream emission (seminal emission associated with dreaming), excessive libido, frequent and persistent erections, and premature ejaculation.
- Liver: Dull rib-side pain.
- Kidney: Limp aching lumbus and knees.
- Tongue: Red with little or no fur, reflecting yīn vacuity with heat.
- Pulse: Fine and rapid, reflecting yīn vacuity with heat.
Comparison: Noninteraction of the heart and kidney, lung-kidney yīn vacuity, and liver-kidney yīn vacuity are all characterized by limp aching lumbus and knees, tinnitus, seminal emission, and vacuity heat signs.
Noninteraction of the heart and kidney manifests in heart palpitation, heart vexation, and insomnia.
Lung-kidney yīn vacuity is characterized by dry cough with scant phlegm that is difficult to expectorate.
Liver-kidney yīn vacuity manifests in rib-side pain, dry eyes, and dizziness.
Treatment
Medicinal therapy: Enrich (and nourish) the liver and kidney; enrich water to moisten wood. Use
Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, KI, and LR. Select
Further development: Ascendant hyperactivity of liver yáng.
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