Lecture Notes: Eight Principle Pattern Diagnosis

Overview

• Purpose: Understanding Eight Principle Pattern Diagnosis for treatment strategy and diagnosis in medicine.
• Topics Covered:
  • The Eight Principles
  • Characteristics or signs and symptoms
  • Concepts of combinations, conversions, complexes, and false signs
  • When to use Eight Principle Diagnosis

Eight Principles

1. Exterior vs. Interior

   • Exterior: Pathogens in superficial levels (skin, muscles, channels)
     • Symptoms: Fever and chills, stiff neck, body ache, floating pulse
     • Pathogens: Heat, cold, dampness, dryness, wind, summer-heat
   • Interior: Pathogens at organ level
     • Symptoms vary depending on affected organs
     • Causes: Emotional stress, physical factors, diet
     • Pulse typically deep (exceptions exist)

2. Hot vs. Cold

   • Heat Patterns
     • Causes: Excess Yang or insufficient Yin
     • Symptoms: Redness, yellow fluids, fever, thirst, irritability, rapid pulse
     • Can cause foul smells
   • Cold Patterns
     • Causes: Excess Yin or insufficient Yang
     • Symptoms: Paleness, clear fluids, cold sensations, slow pulse
     • Fluids are thin and copious

3. Excess vs. Deficiency

   • Excess: Too much of something (e.g., phlegm, dampness)
     • Symptoms: Acute onset, strong symptoms, pain worse with pressure, strong pulse
   • Deficiency: Lack of something (e.g., qi, blood, Yin, Yang)
     • Symptoms: Chronic conditions, pain better with pressure, weak pulse

4. Yang vs. Yin

   • Yang Patterns: Exterior, heat, and excess patterns
   • Yin Patterns: Interior, cold, and deficiency patterns
   • Not diagnostically distinct

Concepts

• Combinations: Combining principles (e.g., exterior-cold)
• Conversions: Principle may transform into its opposite
• Complexes: Opposites occurring simultaneously (e.g., hot and cold)
• False Signs: Misleading signs that suggest the opposite condition

Diagnosis and Applications

• Pulse Diagnosis: Important for determining principles (rate, depth, strength)

  • Rapid pulse = Heat
  • Slow pulse = Cold
  • Floating pulse = Exterior
  • Deep pulse = Interior
  • Strong pulse = Excess
  • Weak pulse = Deficiency

• Using Eight Principles

  • Provides a starting point for diagnosis and treatment strategy
  • Helps narrow choices in pattern diagnosis

Clinical Examples

• Combining principles to diagnose conditions (e.g., exterior-heat)
• Watching for conversions and complexes in patient symptoms
• Identifying false signs to avoid incorrect diagnosis

Conclusion

• Importance of using Eight Principle Pattern Diagnosis
• How it fits into broader diagnostic frameworks
• Encouraged methods of supporting the educational content (Patreon, donations)