Pulse Flashcards
(30 cards)
What are the 3 names and 5 organ locations of the pulse?
Cun - inch
Guan - gate
Chi - foot
Left hand (your right):
Kidney
Liver
Heart
Right hand (your left):
Kidney
Spleen
Lung
What is a floating pulse and what does it indicate?
Felt strongly on the surface level but no deeper. Gets weaker the firmer you press
Often can indicate external conditions like cold or wind invasion
What does a sunken/ deep pulse indicate?
Excess or internal conditions.
Middle and deepest is strong
If deepest is weak - deficiency
If deepest is strong - excess
What is a scattered pulse and what does it indicate?
Just on the surface, nothing deeper
Irregular
Deficiency pattern
What is a hollow pulse and what does it indicate?
Surface is strong then becomes empty - like a scallion
Indicates blood loss or fluid deficiency
What is a slow pulse and what does it indicate?
Less then 3 beats per breath
Less than 60 bpm
Slow and forceful - excess cold
Slow and weak - yang deficiency
Can also indicate sinus bradycardia
What is a moderate pulse and what does it indicate?
Normal depth, strength, speed, and width
Indicates a generally healthy disposition
Sometimes can indicate dampness
What is a fast pulse and what does it indicate?
More than 5 beats per respiration
Indicates heat (accelerating movement of blood)
Yang pulse
What is a full/forceful pulse and what does it indicate?
Big and forceful. Pounds against the fingers
Sign of real heat
Yang pulse
What is an indistinct/ minute pulse and what does it indicate?
Very weak. Barely perceptible
Indicates extreme deficiency
Can sometimes indicate heart conditions
Yin pulse
What is a weak/frail pulse and what does it indicate?
Weak on the surface and deeper
Indicates extreme qi and blood deficiency
What is an astringent/ choppy pulse and what does it indicate?
“Like a knife scraping bamboo”
Can indicate blood deficiency
What is a wiry pulse and what does it indicate?
Twist feeling like a guitar string
Rebounds against pressure of fingers
No fluidity
Liver and gallbladder and stagnation
Common in old people
Yang pulse
What is a tight/taut pulse and what does it indicate?
Stronger and fuller than a wiry pulse
Vibrating and urgent
Excess, cold, stagnation
Yang within yin
What is a slow intermittent pulse and what does it indicate?
Skips a beat regularly
Indicates heart issues, heart failure
Exhaustion of all organs
Yin pulse
What is a hurried pulse and what does it indicate?
Rapid and intermittent
Skips a beat regularly
Indicates heat
What is a knotted pulse and what does it indicate?
Slow, intermittent, irregular
Cold
Predominance of yin
Stagnation
Retention of phlegm
Blood stasis
Yin pulse
What is a long pulse and what does it indicate?
Pulse can be felt physically beyond the three points
Of normal speed and strength then considered healthy
If tight and wiry then considered excessive heat
Yang pulse
What is a short pulse and what does it indicate?
Can’t be felt on all three pulse points, usually only one
Sign of deficiency or blockage
Yin pulse
What is a thin pulse and what does it indicate?
Small and fine but distinct and clear
Blood deficiency
Qi deficiency
Yin pulse
What is a frail/ feeble pulse and what does it indicate?
Soft, weak, thin, and found on the deep level
Indicates qi deficiency because there’s not enough Qi to fill the pulse
What is a soggy pulse and what does it indicate?
Found at the superficial level
Soft and thin
Disappears under light pressure
Indicates qi deficiency, blood deficiency or dampness
What is a slippery pulse and what does it indicate?
Feels like a slithering snake or a ball bearing covered in mucus
Indicates excess dampness or mucus
Pregnancy due to more blood plasma
Digestive issues like food stagnation/retention
Can also indicate tumour
Considered yang within yin
What is an indistinct/hidden pulse and what does it indicate?
Extreme form of sinking pulse
Found on deep level
If strong - then indicates cold
If weak, then it indicates deficient yang
Yin pulse
