Stringlike pulse

Also wiry pulse (Obs.); bowstring pulse. A pulse that is long and taut and feels like a zither string to the touch. The stringlike pulse is associated with diseases of the liver and gallbladder, and in particular with ascendant liver yáng. It is also associated with pain and with phlegm-rheum patterns. The stringlike pulse is generally forceful; if forceless, it is termed a vacuous stringlike pulse, which indicates vacuity of yīn and hyperactivity of yáng.

Biomedical correspondence: observed in hypertension, arteriosclerosis, chronic bronchitis, and in diseases characterized by severe pain.

Similar pulses: A tight pulse is a stringlike pulse that has marked forcefulness. Stringlike denotes a quality, whereas tight denotes a quality and forcefulness. A tight pulse is always stringlike, whereas a stringlike pulse is not necessarily tight. A tight pulse is associated with cold and pain. A drumskin pulse is stringlike and empty in the middle. Its significance is the same as that of the scallion-stalk pulse, the name by which it is more commonly denoted.