Medicinals

lóng gǔ / 龙骨 / 龍骨 / dragon bone

Latin pharmacognostic name: Mastodi Ossis Fossilia

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names: 化龙骨 huà lóng gǔ; 花龙骨 huā lóng gǔ

Origin: Animal

Use: medicinal

Category: Spirit-quieting agents / Heavy settling spirit-quieting agents

Properties: Sweet, astringent; balanced.

Channel entry: heart, liver, and kidney channels.

Indications:

Dosage & Method:

Oral: 15–30g in decoctions; it should be predecocted. For its astringing action or external applications, the calcined form should be used. For other indications, the raw form is preferred.

Warning:

Contraindicated in the presence of damp-heat and other repletion evils.

Product Description:

This is the fossilize bone of various mammals including rhinoceroses, antelopes, deer, pigs, and bovines. Distinction is made between flowery dragon bone 五花龙骨 and 白龙骨. Flowery dragon bone comes in irregular lumps, 6–10 cm long, 6–10 cm wide and 2–3 cm thick. It is pale gray with red, blue, yellow, and brown markings on the fractures like the annual rings of trees. It is hard and brittle and breaks like slate. White dragon bone is whitish yellow and comes in larger pieces. It is hard as stone and chalky in substance.

Quality:

Flowery dragon's bone with pronounced colored markings is the best.

Product Area:

Hénán, Héběi, Shānxī, Shǎnxī (Shaanxi), Shāndōng, Inner Mongolia, Húběi, Sìchuān, Yúnnán, Guǎngxī, and Qīnghǎi.

Etymology:

The name lóng gǔ龙骨, literally ""dragon bone,"" reflects a traditional explanation of this item's origin.

See also:

lóng chǐ (龙齿 Mastodi Dentis Fossilia, dragon tooth)

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