Lung disease

Any morbidity of the lung. The lung governs qì and is in charge of breathing, and opens at the nose; hence, disease of the lung can manifest in signs such as cough, rapid breathing, and nasal congestion and runny nose. Since phlegm easily collects in the lung (lung is the receptacle that holds phlegm); hence lung disease often manifests in copious phlegm. Furthermore, the lung governs the voice; hence lung disease can also manifest in hoarse voice or loss of voice. The lung governs diffusion, depurative downbearing, and the regulation of the waterways, and the pathomechanisms of lung disease are often explained in terms of failure of these functions. Contraction of wind-cold or wind-heat causes nondiffusion of lung qì. In the case of wind-cold, for example, this gives rise to signs such as aversion to cold, heat effusion, nasal congestion, and runny nose. External contractions and internal damage can cause impaired downbearing of lung qì, which manifests in cough, copious phlegm, hasty breathing, and distension and oppression in the chest and diaphragm. When regulation of the waterways is affected, puffy swelling and panting and cough are observed. See lung pattern identification.