Stomach governs intake

The function of the stomach is to receive ingested foods and perform the initial stage of digestion. Normal performance of this function is dependent on the free downbearing (通降 tōng jiàng) of food to the small intestine. It is less important than the spleen, and to some extent dominated by it since the spleen moves the fluids of the stomach. Impairment of stomach function may take the form of stomach qì disharmony, characterized by distension and fullness in the upper abdomen, torpid intake (sluggishness of the intake function manifesting in poor appetite and indigestion), stomach pain, or stomach qì ascending counterflow, presenting signs of nausea, vomiting, belching, or hiccup.