Tongue

Question 1

What does a puffy/swollen tongue indicate?

Answer 1

Damp

Question 2

What does a thin tongue indicate?

Answer 2

Blood deficiency

Question 3

What does a narrow tongue indicate?

Answer 3

Yin deficiency

Qi stagnation

Question 4

What does a long tongue indicate?

Answer 4

Heart fire
Phlegm-fire in the Heart

(Log tongue pertains to the heart)

Question 5

What does a short tongue indicate?

Answer 5

Yin deficiency

Question 6

What does a scalloped tongue indicate?

Answer 6

Qi deficiency
Yang deficiency

(Yang deficiency causing damp; won’t have a scalloped tongue w/o puffiness)

Question 7

What does a depressed/indented tongue indicate?

Answer 7

Qi deficiency

Question 8

What does a cracked tongue indicate?

Answer 8

Yin deficiency

Qi deficiency

Question 9

What does a hammer shapes tongue indicate?

Answer 9

Phlegm-fire harassing the Heart

Upward rushing of heat and insubstantial phlegm

Question 10

What does a pointed tongue indicate?

Answer 10

Heart yin deficiency

Question 11

What do macules/papules indicate?

Answer 11

Heat
Congealed heat
(“Bound heat”)

Question 12

What do sores on the tongue indicate?

Answer 12

Heart fire

Deficiency fire

Question 13

What does a tongue with a cleft at the tip indicate?

Answer 13

Heart yin deficiency

Question 14

What does tongue body color indicate?

Answer 14

Hot/Cold

Question 15

What does a pale tongue indicate?

Answer 15

Qi deficiency
Yang deficiency
Blood deficiency
Cold (paleness with a blue to to tinge)

Question 16

What does a red tongue indicate?

Answer 16

Heat

Darker red: yin deficiency
(Brighter red: yang xs heat)

Question 17

What does a crimson tongue indicate?

Answer 17

Fire

Racing pulse

Question 18

What does a lavender/dusky tongue indicate?

Answer 18

Qi stagnation

Blood stasis

Question 19

What does a dusky/purple tongue indicate?

Answer 19

Pronounced Qi stagnation

Pronounced Blood stasis

Question 20

What do red spots (petechia) indicate?

Answer 20

Bound heat

Tx bound heat first

Question 21

What do blue/purple spots indicate?

Answer 21

Blood stasis

Often found in Lv/Gb area

Question 22

What do black spots indicate?

Answer 22

Severe heat or stasis

Question 23

What is tongue body motility in 8 principles?

Answer 23

Yang/Yin

Question 24

What does a deviated tongue indicate?

Answer 24

Internal wind

Question 25

What does a quivering tongue indicate?

Answer 25

Internal wind (holding shape but shaking) Qi deficiency (quivering and changing shape)

Question 26

What does a flicking tongue movement indicate?

Answer 26

Heart fire Internal Wind (Also side-effect of some anti-depressants)

Question 27

What does the inability to fully extend the tongue indicate? | Not a short tongue

Answer 27

Qi deficiency

Question 28

What does a stiff tongue indicate?

Answer 28

Phlegm obstructing the Heart orifices

Question 29

What does a rigid tongue indicate?

Answer 29

Wind stroke

Question 30

What does a flaccid/limp tongue indicate?

Answer 30

Qi deficiency | Yang deficiency

Question 31

What does tongue coat thickness indicate in 8 principles?

Answer 31

Excess/deficient | Exterior/Interior

Question 32

What does a thin tongue coat indicate?

Answer 32

Normal

Question 33

What does a thick tongue coat indicate?

Answer 33

Phlegm-Damp

Question 34

What does a peeled tongue indicate?

Answer 34

Heart Yin Deficiency | Stomach Qi Deficiency

Question 35

What does a geographic tongue coat indicate?

Answer 35

Constitutional yin deficiency | Patchy but rooted

Question 36

What does a glossy/mirror tongue coat indicate?

Answer 36

Yin deficiency | So little coat it looks shiny

Question 37

What does tongue coat texture indicate in 8 principles?

Answer 37

Excess/Deficiency

Question 38

What does a slimy greasy tongue coat indicate?

Answer 38

Phlegm | Buttered tongue

Question 39

What does a moldy/granular tongue coat indicate?

Answer 39

Phlegm with underlying deficiency | Balls of greasy coat

Question 40

What does a rooted tongue coat indicate?

Answer 40

Excess

Question 41

What does an unrooted tongue coat indicate?

Answer 41

Deficiency

Question 42

What does a dry tongue coat indicate?

Answer 42

Heat

Question 43

What does tongue coat color indicate in 8 principles?

Answer 43

Hot/Cold | Exterior/Interior

Question 44

What does a white tongue coat indicate?

Answer 44

Normal (if rooted and thin) Cold Cold-Damp Phlegm-Damp

Question 45

What does a yellow tongue coat indicate?

Answer 45

Heat | Damp-Heat

Question 46

What does a grey tongue coat indicate?

Answer 46

Heat Turbid phlegm-damp Deficiency fire

Question 47

What does a black tongue coat indicate?

Answer 47

Critical stage of disease | Smoking

Question 48

What does tongue moisture represent in 8 principles?

Answer 48

Excess/deficiency | Hot/cold

Question 49

What does a wet tongue coat indicate?

Answer 49

Yang deficiency | Damp

Question 50

What does a dry tongue indicate?

Answer 50

Fluid deficiency

Question 51

What does a foamy tongue indicate?

Answer 51

Sp/St deficiency Phlegm-rheum in Lung (Fluid and air combining)

Question 52

What does a pasty tongue moisture indicate?

Answer 52

Food stagnation Phlegm in St (Often occurs with a greasy tongue coat)

Question 53

What do absent sublingual veins indicate?

Answer 53

Normal

Question 54

What do visible sublingual veins indicate?

Answer 54

Blood stasis

Question 55

What do distended sublingual veins indicate?

Answer 55

Pronounced blood stasis

Question 56

What does tongue body shape relate to in 8 principles?

Answer 56

Excess/deficiency