The internal and external relationship between the five zang organs and the six fu organs

There are five internal organs and six bowels in every person's body. The five internal organs and six bowels mainly refer to the main organs of a person's body. Therefore, the lack of any of the five internal organs will cause abnormalities in a person's body. Although the five internal organs and the six bowels have very different forms of existence, the relationship between them is actually inseparable. So what is the relationship between the five zang-organs and the six bowels?

The relationship between the five internal organs

"Zang" refers to solid organs with structures, including the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. "Fu" refers to hollow containers, including the small intestine, gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, and bladder, which correspond to the five zang organs respectively. In addition, the human chest and abdominal cavity are divided into the upper, middle, and lower burners, which is the sixth fu.

The relationship between dirty and dirty

1. Heart and lungs: The heart controls blood, and the lungs control qi. The maintenance of the functional activities of human organs and tissues depends on the circulation of qi and blood to transport nutrients. Although the normal circulation of blood is controlled by the heart, it must be promoted by the lung qi. The vital energy accumulated in the lungs must be infused into the heart meridians before it can flow smoothly throughout the body.

2. Heart and liver: The heart is the driving force of blood circulation, and the liver is an important organ for storing blood. Therefore, when the heart blood is vigorous, the liver blood storage will be abundant, which can not only nourish the tendons and veins, but also promote the normal activities of the limbs and bones of the human body. If the deficiency of heart blood causes insufficient liver blood, the blood will not be able to nourish the tendons, resulting in symptoms such as pain in the tendons and bones, cramps in the hands and feet, and convulsions. For example, when liver depression turns into fire, it can disturb the heart and cause symptoms such as restlessness and insomnia.

3. Heart and spleen: The essence transformed by the spleen needs the circulation of blood to be distributed throughout the body. And the heart blood must rely on the essence of water and grain absorbed and transferred by the spleen. On the other hand, the heart controls blood and the spleen regulates blood. Only when the spleen functions normally can it regulate blood. If the spleen is weak, it may cause blood to not flow through the meridians.

4. Heart and kidney: The heart and kidney interact and restrict each other to maintain a relative balance of physiological functions. Under physiological conditions, the heart yang continues to descend and the kidney yin continues to rise, the upper and lower parts intersect, and the yin and yang complement each other, which is called "heart-kidney interaction." Under pathological conditions, if the kidney yin is insufficient and cannot supply the heart, it will cause the heart yang to be too hyperactive, and the two will become out of balance, which is called "heart-kidney disharmony."

5. Liver and spleen: The liver stores blood, and the spleen is responsible for transporting and transforming the essence of water and grain to produce blood. For example, spleen deficiency affects the production of blood, which can lead to liver blood deficiency, dizziness, blurred vision, etc. The liver likes to be smooth and hates to be depressed. If liver qi is stagnant and attacks the spleen, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc. may occur.

6. Liver and lungs: The liver meridian passes through the fat and flows up to the lungs. The two are connected to each other. The liver qi rises and the lung qi descends, which is related to the rise and fall of the human body's qi. If the liver qi goes against the flow and the lungs fail to descend, chest tightness and shortness of breath may be seen. When liver fire attacks the lungs, symptoms such as chest and flank pain, dry cough, or blood in sputum may also occur.

7. Liver and kidney: The kidney stores essence and the liver stores blood. Liver blood needs to rely on the nourishment of kidney essence, and kidney essence needs to be constantly replenished by the liver. The two are interdependent and support each other. Insufficient kidney essence can lead to liver blood deficiency. Conversely, liver blood deficiency can affect the production of kidney essence. If the kidney yin is insufficient and the liver loses nourishment, it can cause liver yin deficiency, leading to symptoms of hyperactivity of liver yang or internal liver wind, such as dizziness, tinnitus, tremor, numbness, convulsions, etc.

8. Lungs and spleen: The spleen transports the essence of food and water to the lungs, where it combines with the essence inhaled by the lungs to form Zong Qi (also known as lung Qi). The strength of the lung qi is related to the spleen's ability to transport and transform essence, so if the spleen qi is strong, the lung qi is abundant. When spleen deficiency affects the lungs, symptoms such as poor appetite, laziness, constipation, and cough may occur. The method of "tonifying the spleen and benefiting the lungs" is often used in clinical treatment. For example, if you suffer from chronic cough, with a lot of thin white sputum that is easy to cough up, fatigue and poor appetite, although the symptoms are in the lungs, the root of the disease is in the spleen, and the method of "strengthening the spleen, drying dampness and resolving phlegm" can be effective. The saying "The lungs are the organ that stores phlegm, and the spleen is the source of phlegm" reflects the relationship between the spleen and the lungs.

9. Spleen and kidney: Spleen yang relies on the warmth and nourishment of kidney yang to play its role in transportation and transformation. Insufficient kidney yang can lead to spleen yang deficiency and dysfunction of transportation and transformation, resulting in symptoms such as dawn diarrhea and indigestion. On the contrary, if the spleen yang is deficient, it can also lead to insufficient kidney yang, resulting in cold waist, edema, etc.

10. Lungs and kidneys: The lungs are responsible for descending and regulating the water channels, allowing water to flow down to the kidneys. The kidneys control water and fluids. Through the evaporation of kidney yang, the purest of the pure returns to the lungs, and relies on the transportation and transformation of spleen yang to complete the function of water metabolism. Dysfunction of any of the lungs, spleen, and kidneys can cause water retention and lead to edema. The lungs are responsible for breathing, and the kidneys are responsible for taking in air. The two organs work together to maintain the rise and fall of qi in the body.

The relationship between zang-fu and fu-organs

The internal organs and the viscera cooperate with each other inside and outside, one internal organ matches one viscera. The internal organs are yin and are inside, while the viscera are yang and are outside. The inside and outside of the internal organs are connected by meridians, that is, the meridians of the internal organs are connected to the internal organs, and the meridians of the internal organs are connected to the internal organs. The meridians are connected and interact with each other, so the internal organs and the internal organs can influence each other and transmit each other's pathological changes.

The relationship between the internal organs is: the heart and small intestine are exterior and interior; the liver and gallbladder are exterior and interior; the spleen and stomach are exterior and interior; the lungs and large intestine are exterior and interior; the kidneys and bladder are exterior and interior; the pericardium and triple burner are exterior and interior.

1. Heart and small intestine: The meridians are connected and they are mutually exterior and interior. Heat in the heart meridian may cause erosions in the mouth and tongue. When the heat from the bitter heart meridian is transferred to the small intestine, symptoms such as short and dark urine, and painful urethra may occur.

2. Liver and gallbladder: The gallbladder is stored in the liver, the internal organs are connected, the meridians are connected, and they constitute the inside and outside. Bile comes from the liver. If the liver's secretion is abnormal, it will affect the normal excretion of bile. Conversely, abnormal bile excretion will affect the liver. Therefore, liver and gallbladder symptoms often appear at the same time, such as jaundice, side pain, bitter taste in the mouth, dizziness, etc.

3. Spleen and stomach: In terms of characteristics, the spleen likes dryness and hates dampness, while the stomach likes moisture and hates dryness; the spleen is responsible for ascending, while the stomach is responsible for descending. In terms of physiological function, the stomach is the sea of ​​water and grain and is responsible for digestion; the spleen circulates body fluids of the stomach and is responsible for transportation and transformation. The two complement each other in dryness and dampness, coordinate their rise and fall, and are transformed by the stomach and spleen. They serve each other, forming a contradictory movement that is both opposing and unified, and together complete the tasks of digestion, absorption and transmission of food and water.

When the stomach qi moves smoothly downward and the stomach qi is harmonious and descending, food and water can flow downward. Behavior above the spleen level is smooth, the spleen level rises, and subtle substances can be transported upward. If the stomach qi does not descend but instead goes upward, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, etc. may easily occur. The spleen qi does not rise but sinks instead, which can easily lead to symptoms such as chronic diarrhea, anal prolapse, and uterine prolapse. Because the spleen and stomach are closely related physiologically and influence each other pathologically, they are often discussed together in clinical practice and are often treated together.

4. Lungs and large intestine: They are connected by meridians and are mutually exterior and interior. If the lung qi descends, the qi of the large intestine will be unobstructed and can perform its conduction function. On the contrary, if the large intestine maintains its smooth conduction, the lung qi can be cleared and descend. For example: if the lung qi is stagnant and loses its function of descending, it may cause large intestine conduction blockage and constipation. Conversely, large intestine conduction block can cause abnormal lung descending function, resulting in shortness of breath, cough, and asthma. For example: In treatment, if there is real heat in the lungs, the large intestine can be drained to allow the heat to be discharged from the large intestine. On the contrary, if the large intestine is blocked, it can promote the flow of lung Qi and facilitate the flow of Qi in the large intestine.

5. Kidney and bladder: The meridians are connected and they are the exterior and interior of each other. Physiologically, one is the water organ and the other is the water viscera, and together they maintain the balance of water metabolism (mainly the kidney). The evaporation of kidney yang causes fluid to seep into the bladder, and the bladder, with the help of the kidney yang, excretes urine through its own function. Pathologically, insufficient kidney yang can weaken bladder function and cause frequent urination or enuresis. Dampness and heat in the bladder can affect the kidneys and cause low back pain, hematuria, etc.

6. Pericardium and triple energizer: The meridians are interconnected and are mutually exterior and interior. For example, in clinical practice, dampness and heat in fever combine to cause stagnation in the triple energizer, resulting in symptoms such as chest tightness, heaviness of the body, little urine and loose stools, indicating that the disease is in the qi level. If its development is not stopped, the warm-heat pathogenic factors will enter the Ying part from the Qi part, and then penetrate into the pericardium from the triple burner, causing symptoms such as coma and delirium.