Beschrijving

This book serves as both an introduction and a detailed reference to tongue diagnosis within the framework of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The authors explain how the appearance of the tongue—its shape, colour, coating, moisture, and changes in texture—reflects the internal state of the body and can serve as a window into organ function, circulation, and the balance of Qi and bodily fluids. They emphasise that proper tongue diagnosis relies on careful observation, pattern recognition, and correlation with other clinical signs, rather than a one-to-one mapping of tongue features to disease labels. In the central chapters the authors present systematic descriptions of various tongue appearances (e.g., pale and thin tongue, red tongue with scant coating, thick greasy coat, cracked tongue) and explain what functional or pathological conditions each may suggest—such as deficiency or excess, heat or cold, internal dampness, or stagnation. They also review the scientific background: how microvascular changes, epithelial patterns, and systemic conditions are manifested in tongue features, thus providing a bridge between TCM theory and biomedical observations. Finally, the book reflects on the practical implications for diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice: how to incorporate tongue diagnosis into comprehensive patient assessment; how to avoid oversimplification; the limitations of observation alone; and the importance of integrating tongue findings with pulse diagnosis, patient history and symptoms. The authors argue that tongue diagnosis should not be used in isolation but can greatly enhance the clinician’s understanding of the whole person. abebooks.com+1