Reading about traditional Chinese/Asian medicine is very confusing. This is because it is an old Chinese system and many of the ideas go back to 220 CE and before. This is my attempt to start translating some of the ideas so you have a better idea of what contemporary Chinese medicine practitioners like myself are talking about. Like any system, the ideas within the system make a lot of sense once you spend a little time with it, learning the details.

The 5 Major Organs in TCM

One of the most misunderstood (and worst translated) idea is the Spleen. In modern medicine a better translation is the relationship between the pancreas and duodenum or small intestine and the way that nutrients are absorbed and metabolized in the GI tract and then distributed to the rest of the body. So a better translation sometimes used is “Spleen-Pancreas”. But even that leaves out the small intestine.

The Spleen has more functions than just digestion though. It also has functions related to blood coagulation, mitochondrial function, and gut dysbiosis.

So you see it is several physiological systems combined into one large “organ”. Once you separate out the different functions it makes more sense.

Another largely misunderstood term is the Liver. The Liver has a lot of physiological functions which are better translated to ANS (Autonomic Nervous System) balance, musculo-fascial tension, neurotransmitter production/emotional balance, and also digestive aspects like bile production and the gut-brain axis.

Here are a couple of common examples. “Liver Qi Stagnation or Depression” could be described as the sympathetic nervous system over controlling the parasympathetic nervous system leading to feelings of irritability or frustration or low grade depression. Or you could just call it the stress response and all the ways stress interferes with normal physiological function.

Another idea is that the Liver relates to the eyes. In modern terms this probably refers to how the liver stores vitamin A.

Work in Progress…

I’ve just begun this part of the web site and it is grossly incomplete. A faster quicker way to get to these ideas is to go to an AI and input something like this: “please explain the TCM Liver-Spleen imbalance in conventional medical terms”

This will get you to the specific idea you want explained.

Here are more ideas to explore if you can’t wait for me to get to them:

“Are the Chinese “Kidneys” similar to the HPA axis”

“What does it mean that the Lung meridian starts in the Stomach?”

“Why is it important to treat Dampness in modern patients?”