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Sinew

筋 〔筋〕jīn

Tough, stringy, elastic parts of the body.

  1. The body constituent related to the liver, corresponding to tendon, ligament, and muscle in biomedical anatomy and considered the entity affected by spasm. See liver. Compare sinew membrane.
  2. The sinew gathering, i.e., the penis. See sinew wilting for an example of this usage.
  3. A vain visible at the body's surface, especially one that is abnormal in size or form.

Etymology

Chinjīn, tendon, sinew, or anything similar such as veins or stringy parts of plants. Modern Chinese dictionaries tend to equate the term with tendon as used in modern medicine. However, both old and new literature applies the term in a wider meaning:

Anatomically, therefore, the Chinese concept of 筋 jīn cannot be equated with the meaning of the English tendon. It should, rather, be understood to overlap with that of the flesh, which anatomically includes the muscle and fat. The sinew in its relationship to the liver explains the etiology and treatment of diseases affecting the muscles such as wilting (wěi) and tetany, whereas flesh in its relationship to the spleen explains the etiology and treatment of other diseases affecting the muscles such as emaciation and general lack of strength. The Magic Pivot (灵枢 líng shū) says, Sinew is toughness. Explanation of Characters (说文解字 shuō wén) states, 筋 is the strength of the flesh; [the character] is derived from [the meaning of its components] 肉 ròu, flesh, and 力 , strength, and 竹 zhú, bamboo, a thing that is very sinewy.

Sinew must be understood in its relationship to the liver and the five-phase concept of wood. Wood is the bending and stretching. It corresponds to woody or sinewy parts of the body that have the power to bend and stretch. These include include tendons and functional aspect of the muscles. Note also that the liver is described as the unyielding viscus and a (military) general, which also reflect the notion of strength associated with liver-wood. See liver. 筋 jīn is also referred to in Chinese as 筋脉 jīn mài, as in 筋脉拘急 jīn mài jū jí, hypertonicity of the sinews. In this term, the 脉 mài probably reflects the long narrow shape of sinews, rather than denoting vessel, which is the meaning of the character most common in medicine. In other contexts, 筋脉 jīn mài means sinew and vessel. See sinew vessel.

Finally, 筋 also refers to visible blood vessels, especially in the compound 青筋 qīng jīn, blue-green jīn. Both sinew goiter (see goiter) and sinew tumor are characterized by and so named because of knotted veins (varicosity) appearing on their surface. Note that the term 筋脉 jīn mài nowadays usually means simply sinew, but in earlier texts, it may be interpreted as sinews and vessels.

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