concept
The lungs are located in the chest, one on the left and one on the right, covering the heart. The lungs are divided into leaves, two on the left, three on the right and five on the * *.
interpret
The lung is combined with the skin in the body, the flowers are in the hair, the orifices are in the nose, the heart is in sorrow (worry), and the liquid is in tears. Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian belong to both lung and large intestine, and there is no distinction between exterior and interior. The lung belongs to gold in the five elements, and it is the yin in the yang, corresponding to the autumn spirit in nature.
The main physiological functions of the lung are controlling breath, moving water, pulse-cutting, and arthralgia. The basic operation form of lung qi is to declare the origin and reduce depression. The lung occupies the highest position in the five internal organs, covering all the internal organs, so it is called "Gai Hua". The lungs are delicate and do not resist the invasion of cold, heat and dampness; The lung is connected with the nose and fur, and is closely related to nature, so it is easy to be invaded by external evils, so it is called "delicate and dirty".
Traditional Chinese medicine application
I. Main physiological functions
1, the master breathes.
The lung governs qi, which was first seen in Neijing. Su Wen Wu Zang Dai said: "All qi belongs to the lung." Lung governing qi includes two aspects: qi governing breathing and qi governing the whole body.
(1) Qi governs breathing: the lung governs breathing, which means that the lung is a place for gas exchange. For example, "Su Wenyin Yang Ying Xiang Da Lun" said: "The weather is connected with the lungs." Through the respiratory function of the lungs, clean air is continuously inhaled, turbid air is discharged, and innovation is brought forth, thus realizing the gas exchange between the body and the external environment and maintaining the life activities of the human body.
In fact, the function of lung controlling breathing is the concrete manifestation of lung qi function in the process of gas exchange: lung qi announces and turbid qi exhales; When lung qi drops, clear qi can be inhaled. If the spread and decline of lung qi are coordinated and orderly, breathing will be even and unobstructed. There are clinical manifestations of abnormal breathing when lung qi does not rise or lung qi does not fall, but the clinical manifestations are different. If internal drinking is triggered by external factors, airway obstruction and lung qi disharmony are mostly chest tightness, shortness of breath or asthma; If the liver fire is inflamed, the lung yin is damaged and the lung is depressed, it will lead to asthma and cough.
(2) Qi governs the whole body: the lung governs the whole body, which means that the lung has the function of controlling the generation and operation of qi in the whole body. Therefore, Su Wen's Six Classics of Tibetan Elephants says: "The lung is the source of qi."
The lung governs the generation of qi in the whole body, which is reflected in the generation of clan qi. Qi in one body is mainly composed of innate qi and acquired qi. Zongqi belongs to acquired qi, which is produced by the combination of natural clear qi inhaled by lung and grain qi produced by spleen and stomach transporting Shui Gu essence. Zongqi is produced in the lungs, accumulated in the "sea of qi" in the chest, ascending in the throat and promoting the breathing of the lungs. For example, in Ling Shu Wu Wei, "those with poor qi accumulate in the chest, which is called the sea of qi, which starts from the lungs and goes along with the throat, so it is called", and it can also focus on the heart pulse to help the heart promote blood circulation. Patriarchal qi is an important part of internal qi, and its generation is related to the rise and fall of internal qi. Therefore, whether the respiratory function of the lung is sound or not not not not only affects the generation of clan qi, but also affects the rise and fall of qi in a body.
The movement of lung governing the whole body qi is reflected in the regulation of the whole body qi. Rhythmic breathing of lung plays an important role in regulating the movement of qi in the whole body. When the lungs breathe evenly and smoothly, and the rhythm is consistent and moderate, the movement of Qi ascending and descending in and out of the zang-fu organs and meridians will be smooth and coordinated.
Abnormal breathing in the lungs not only affects the generation of ancestral qi and whole body qi, but also leads to the deficiency of whole body qi, which is called "qi deficiency", resulting in symptoms such as insufficient breathing, low breath and limb fatigue, and also affects the operation of whole body qi, leading to the movement disorder of qi in zang-fu organs and meridians.
In fact, whether the lung governs the whole body qi or the breathing qi, it is based on the respiratory function of the lung. Uniform breathing of the lungs is the fundamental condition for the generation of qi and the smooth flow of qi. If the respiratory function of the lung is abnormal, it will inevitably affect the generation and operation of qi. If the lungs lose their breathing function, clear air can't be inhaled, turbid air can't be discharged, metabolism stops, and human life activities are over. Therefore, the function of the lung governing the whole body qi mainly depends on the respiratory function of the lung.
2. Trunk water
The lung controls the movement of water, which means that lung qi promotes and regulates the transport and excretion of water and liquid throughout the body. Su Wen's theory of meridian differentiation is called "the meridian of water transfer". The connotation of lung governing water mainly has two aspects: first, through the propaganda of lung qi, the spleen qi is introduced into the light and clear part of lung water and Shui Gu's essence, which spreads upward and outward, reaches the head and face, and reaches the hair and muscles of the whole body to make it moist; The water transferred to furry muscle abscess turns into sweat under the promotion of Wei Qi, and is properly excreted under the regulation of Wei Qi. Second, through the downward action of lung qi, the spleen qi is introduced into the lung and Shui Gu's subtle water and thick parts, and then transported inward and downward to other zang-fu organs to moisten them. The turbid water (waste water) generated by the metabolism of zang-fu organs is transported downward to the kidney (or bladder) and becomes the source of urine production.
The lung transports water and liquid through the spreading function of qi, so it is said that "the lung controls the movement of water". Because the lung is the crown of the five internal organs, ranking first among the five internal organs, and participating in regulating the water and fluid metabolism of the whole body, Wang Qing's Collection of Medical Prescriptions says that "the lung is the source of water gods".
Exogenous pathogens attack the lungs, and the lungs are not obvious, which can cause abnormal distribution of water and liquid upward and outward, resulting in symptoms such as anhidrosis and systemic edema. The internal injury of the lung and the loss of lung-lowering function will lead to the failure of water to flow down to other internal organs, turbid liquid to flow down to the kidney or bladder, cough against qi, dysuria or edema. Abnormal function of lung qi and water circulation leads to abnormal divergence of water from spleen to lung and accumulation of phlegm. Water and drinks accumulate in the lungs, blocking the airway and affecting gas exchange. There are usually symptoms of cough, asthma and phlegm, and even you can't lie down. The further development of the disease will cause edema all over the body and affect his dirty function. Clinically, methods such as "dispersing lung and promoting diuresis" and "reducing qi and promoting diuresis" can be used to treat phlegm and edema caused by abnormal water and liquid delivery. Because the obstacle of water-liquid transport is mainly caused by the invasion of external evil, the method of dispersing lung and promoting water use is often used in clinic, that is, the so-called "opening the ghost gate" in Neijing, which was called "lifting the pot and uncovering the lid" by the ancients, and Xu Qingdachun's medical origin theory called "opening the upper yuan to facilitate the downward flow".
3, the tide is white, attend the festival
The lung welcomes the pulse means that the whole body's blood flows through the lung through the pulse, and then the turbid gas is exchanged inside and outside the body through the breathing of the lung, and then the blood rich in clear gas is transported to the whole body through the pulse through the function of lung qi.
All blood vessels in the whole body belong to the heart, and heart qi is the basic driving force of blood circulation. The operation of blood depends on the promotion and regulation of lung qi, that is, lung qi has the function of helping the heart promote blood circulation. The lung regulates the whole body qi movement through respiratory movement, thus promoting blood circulation. Therefore, "Su Wenping's Theory of Meteorology" said: "People will move again when they breathe a pulse." "Difficult Classics" says: "People can have a pulse of three inches at a time and a pulse of three inches at a time." At the same time, the natural clear air inhaled by the lungs is combined with the valley air transformed from Shui Gu essence transported by the spleen and stomach to produce ancestral air, which has the function of "penetrating the heart pulse" and promoting blood circulation. When lung qi is abundant, ancestor qi is vigorous, and qi flow is unobstructed, blood supply is normal. If the lung qi deficiency is weak or congested, it can not help the heart to circulate blood, which can lead to poor blood circulation in the heart, and even blood stasis, palpitation, chest tightness, blue lips and purple tongue. On the other hand, deficiency of heart-qi or deficiency of heart-yang, and poor blood circulation in the heart will also affect the spread of lung-qi, resulting in symptoms such as cough and asthma.
The lung is the main point, which means that lung qi has the function of regulating lung respiration and whole body qi and blood. "On the Secret Code of Mausoleum and Orchid" said: "The lung is the official of the government, and there is no way to rule the festival." The physiological function of the main lung segment is mainly manifested in four aspects: First, regulating respiratory movement: coordinating the propaganda and harmony of lung qi, keeping breathing stable and uniform, and making the gas in and out of the body exchange normally. The second is to regulate the whole body's qi: through breathing exercise, regulate the rise and fall of the whole body's qi and keep the whole body's qi unobstructed. The third is to control and regulate the blood circulation: through the ascending and descending movement of the lungs to the pulse and qi, the heart is assisted, and the blood circulation is promoted and regulated. Fourth, control and regulate the metabolism of body fluid: control and regulate the distribution and excretion of body fluid through the spread and inhibition of lung qi. It can be seen that the main physiological functions of the lung are highly summarized.
Second, the physiological characteristics
1, lung crown
"Gai Hua" originally refers to the car covers of ancient emperors, while Neijing refers to the lungs. Su Wen's Theory of Bingneng said: "The lung is a hidden cover." The lung is located in the chest, covering the five internal organs, with the highest position, so it is called "Gai Hua". The lung is high and can run water, so it is called "water spring source". The lung covers the five internal organs, can spread and defend qi on the body surface, and has the function of protecting the internal organs from external evils. Therefore, Su Wen's On Wei said: "The lungs are also long"; "On the Nine Truth of Lingshu" said: "The lung is surrounded by five internal organs." Because the lung position is the highest, it is connected with the outside world, so warm evil invades and commits first; Lung and moss are combined, cold and dampness attack the exterior, and moss is affected by evil, which is also combined with lung. Therefore, the lung is the most vulnerable to all kinds of pathogens.
2, the lungs.
The essence of lung is a summary of the physiological and pathological characteristics of lung. Physiologically, the lungs are delicate and delicate, full when inhaled, and exhale in time and space, which is the canopy of viscera and the meeting place of hundreds of pulses; Pathologically, the evil of exogenous six evils enters from fur or mouth and nose, which is often easy to commit lung disease; Other visceral diseases usually involve the lungs. In short, the lung position is the highest, and evil must be injured first; The lung is clear and empty, light and quiet, and can't tolerate the invasion of evil spirits. Therefore, regardless of exogenous diseases, internal injuries or other visceral diseases, all diseases can occur in the lungs, such as cough, asthma, hemoptysis, aphonia, tuberculosis, pulmonary flaccidity and so on. If the delicate lung is invaded by evil, the treatment should be based on the principle of "treating burning like a feather, not lightly lifting it", and the medicine should be light and clear, but expensive. It is not advisable to use drugs that are too cold, too hot, too wet or too dry.
3, the main announcement and surrender
Lung governing the dissemination means that lung qi has the function of upward dissemination and outward divergence; The method of lung governing downward refers to that lung qi has the function of clearing diarrhea and downward internal discharge. The function of lung is realized by the ascending and descending movement of lung qi, so it is called "lung qi propaganda" and "lung qi descending".
The function of lung qi is to disperse qi and body fluid upward and outward, which is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: first, exhale turbid qi in the body; Second, the body fluid transferred from the spleen and part of Shui Gu is transferred to the orifices of the head and face, reaching the muscles and tendons of the whole body; The third is to transfer qi, protect hair muscles, warm meat, nourish skin, open and close, convert metabolic body fluid into sweat, and control and regulate its excretion. For example, "Ling Shu Jue Qi" said: "The upper jiao is developed, which announces the taste of five grains, fumigates the skin, fills the body, moistens the hair, and if the fog is dew-drenched." Ling Shu said, "Purge the upper jiao, warm the meat and nourish the joints, and dredge the joints." If the lung fails to declare due to exogenous wind and cold, it will lead to poor breathing, chest tightness, asthma and cough; Stephy is depressed and his reason is blocked, which can cause aversion to cold and no sweat; When the body fluid stops, it can turn into phlegm and block the airway, and then you will find it difficult to breathe, you can't lie down, asthma and cough.
The descending function of lung qi can make qi and body fluid diverge inward and downward, which is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: first, inhaling natural clear qi, and diffusing the ancestral qi formed by the fusion of inhaled clear qi and valley qi downward to the navel to replenish vitality; Secondly, the body fluid from spleen to lung and part of Shui Gu essence are scattered downward and inward in other zang-fu organs to moisten them; Thirdly, the turbid liquid produced by viscera metabolism is transported to the kidney or bladder and becomes the source of urine. Generally, the movement law of human viscera and qi is that the upper body should go down and the lower body should go up. The lung is located in the chest, which is the crown of the five internal organs, and its qi is unobstructed to clear down. If the lungs do not fall, there will be symptoms such as shallow or short breathing, cough and asthma, and unfavorable qi movement.
The rise and fall of lung qi are two aspects of mutual restriction and mutual utilization. The propaganda and descending are coordinated, the breathing is even and smooth, and the water and liquid transport and metabolism are normal. The so-called "water essence, four fabrics, five meridians in parallel". If the announcement is unbalanced, you will see respiratory disorder and water-liquid metabolism disorder. Generally speaking, the invasion of exogenous pathogens mostly affects the declaration of lung qi, resulting in pathological changes of lung qi; Internal injuries of the lung mostly affect the decline of lung qi, leading to lung failure. Faxuan and Sujiang disease interact and appear at the same time. For example, exogenous wind-cold first leads to lung dysfunction, leading to chest tightness, stuffy nose, aversion to cold, fever and anhidrosis, and can also cause lung dysfunction accompanied by cough and wheezing.
Third, the relationship with form, enlightenment, ambition, liquid and time.
1, the skin is in the body, and its beauty is in the hair.
Hair, including skin, sweat glands, hair and other tissues, is the surface of the body. They rely on the warmth of qi and body fluid, and have the functions of defending against exogenous pathogens, regulating body fluid metabolism, regulating body temperature and assisting breathing. The combination of lung and moss refers to the interactive relationship between lung and moss.
There are two main functions of lung on fur: ① lung qi spreads, spreads and defends qi on fur, which plays the role of warming meat, filling skin, fattening skin, opening and closing, and defending against external evils; (2) Lung qi is propagated, and essence is poured into fur, that is, Shui Gu's body fluid and part of essence are spread upward and outward in the skin and muscles of the whole body to nourish it and make it ruddy and shiny. If the lung essence is insufficient and the lung qi is insufficient, it will not only lead to spontaneous sweating or easy to catch a cold due to duplicity, but also dry and dull due to loss of fur.
There are two main effects of fur on the lungs: ① fur can spread lung qi and regulate breathing. In Neijing, sweat pores are called "Fu Xuan" and "gas valve", which means that sweat pores are not only the gateway to excrete sweat, but also the place where gas exchanges inside and outside the body as the lungs expand and descend. (2) Fur is affected by evil, which can be combined with lung. For example, if the cold pathogen is on the exterior, the defensive qi is weak, and symptoms such as aversion to cold, fever, head and body pain, anhidrosis and tight pulse can be seen. If accompanied by cough and asthma, it means that cold pathogen has hurt the lungs. Therefore, in the treatment of exogenous exterior syndrome, relieving exterior syndrome and dispersing lung qi are often used at the same time.
2. In the nasal cavity
The nose is the passage through which the breath passes in and out, and it is directly connected with the lungs, so it is called the orifices of the lungs. The nose is the uppermost part of the respiratory tract and is connected with the lung through the lung system (throat, trachea, etc.). ) and has the functions of main ventilation and main sense of smell. The ventilation and olfactory function of the nose must rely on the propaganda of lung qi. Clear lung qi leads to smooth nose, smooth breathing and sensitive sense of smell; Lung failure, stuffy nose, dyspnea and poor sense of smell. Therefore: "the nose is the official of the lungs" ("Ling Shu Wu Reading Five Ambassadors"); "Lung qi passes through the nose, and lung harmony can make the nose know the smell" (the pulse degree of the soul axis). Clinically, the abnormal changes of nose are often regarded as one of the basis for diagnosing lung diseases, and the methods of resolving phlegm and dispersing lung are often used to treat nasal congestion, runny nose, abnormal sense of smell and so on.
3. Worry about ambition (sadness)
There are two theories about lung ambition in Neijing: one is that lung ambition is sadness; When it comes to lung ambition, it is trouble. However, when it comes to winning five ambitions, it is said that "sorrow wins anger." Although sorrow and sadness are slightly different, they have roughly the same effect on human physiological activities, so both sorrow and sadness belong to lung ambition. Worry is a normal emotional change or emotional reflection of human body, which is produced by lung essence and lung qi, and is a manifestation of the physiological function of lung essence and lung qi. Excessive sadness or sadness is a bad emotional change, which mainly damages lung essence and lung qi, or leads to disorder of lung qi's movement. Su Wen's Theory of Great Pain says: "Sorrow leads to the elimination of qi." Excessive sadness may lead to lung qi deficiency such as shortness of breath. On the other hand, when lung essence and qi are deficient or lung-qi is unbalanced, the body's tolerance to external non-benign stimuli decreases, and it is easy to produce sad emotional changes.
4. Cry in liquid
Snuff, that is, snot, is the secretion of nasal mucosa, which has the effect of moistening the nose. Snuff is transformed from lung essence and dispersed in nasal orifice by lung qi. Therefore, Xuanqi said: "The five internal organs are fluid ... the lungs are snot." Whether the functions of lung essence and lung qi are normal can also be reflected from the changes of nasal mucus. If lung essence and lung qi are sufficient, nasal mucus will moisten nasal orifices without outflow. If the cold pathogen attacks the lung, the lung qi loses its propaganda, and the essence and body fluid of the lung are condensed by the cold pathogen, then the nasal discharge is clear and the nasal sound is clear; When the lung is hot, it can be seen that asthma and cough are suffocating, and the nose is yellow and turbid; If pathogenic dryness invades the lungs, dry nose and pain can be seen.
5. Be in harmony with the autumn atmosphere
The five internal organs correspond to the four seasons of Yin and Yang in nature, and the lung governs autumn. Lung and autumn belong to the five elements of gold. The season is autumn, summer is over, the weather is cool, and all the plants are withered. The lung of the human body governs clearing and descending, which is the yin in the yang, and is in harmony with qi, so it corresponds to autumn qi. The chill in autumn is the excessive reduction of air growth in summer; Stagnation of lung qi restricts the inflammation of heart fire too much. The lung is connected with autumn qi, so the golden qi of the lung should be vigorous in autumn, and the lung has strong restrictive and convergent functions. From autumn to autumn, the qi and blood circulation of the human body gradually transits to "winter storage" with the decline of the qi of "autumn harvest". Therefore, health care experts emphasize that popularity should also be gradually collected in line with the autumn atmosphere. For example, "Su Wen Si Qi Tiaoling" says: "Autumn and March ..... make the mood peaceful to slow down the autumn punishment; Convergence calms autumn; No ambition, so the lungs are clear. This autumn breath should be the way to raise income. " When treating lung diseases, don't disperse lung qi excessively in autumn, but let it converge and decline. In addition, the climate in autumn is cool and dry, and the lungs are the organs of clearing away deficiency, and they like to moisten dryness and hate dryness. Therefore, it is easy to see the syndrome of lung dryness in autumn, and clinical symptoms such as dry cough without phlegm, dry mouth and nose, chapped skin and so on are common.