The tongue has a special relationship with the Heart, in that the Heart opens to the tongue. The tongue is said to be an "offshoot" of the Heart, or "flowers" into the Heart.

The normal tongue in Traditional Chinese Medicine has a light red or pinkish body with a thin white coating.

Connections
Channels/Meridians Reaching the Tongue

Heart Channel (Hand Shaoyin)
- The Luo connecting channel connects to the root of the tongue.

Spleen Channel (Foot Taiyin)
- An internal branch of the primary channel spreads over the lover surface of the tongue.
- The tongue is penetrated by the Spleen Divergent channel

Kidney Channel (Foot Shaoyin)
- An internal branch of the primary channel terminates at the base of the tongue.
Bladder Channel (Foot Taiyang)
- A branch of the muscle/sinew channel binds to the root of the tongue.
San Jiao Channel (Hand Shaoyang)
- A branch of the San Jiao muscle channel links with the root of the tongue