Wiseman’s Chinese Medical Database

zì rán tóng / 自然铜 / 自然銅 / pyrite

Latin pharmacognostic name: Pyritum

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names: 石髓铅 shí suǐ qiān

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Blood-Quickening Stasis-dispelling agents / Blood-quickening injury-healing agents

Properties: Acrid; balanced. (Some sources also add bitter.)

Channel entry: liver channel.

Indications:

• Disperses stasis and relieves pain, joins bones and treats injuries: Injury from knocks and falls, broken bones and ruptured sinews, painful stasis swelling.
• Additional uses: Zì rán tóng may be used to treat goiter, sores, and burns and scalds.

Dosage & Method:

Oral: 3–9g in decoctions; or use in pills or powders. Topical: Grind and apply mixed.

Warning:

Contraindicated in pregnancy. unsuitable for prolonged use and should be used with care in yīn vacuity with effulgent fire or blood vacuity in the absence of stasis.

Quality:

Best are neat evenly sized cubes that are yellow and shiny.

Product Area:

Sìchuān, Guǎngdōng, Húnán.