V. Common Physiological Characteristics of Zang-viscera and Fu-Viscera
There are two main functional characteristics of the zang-viscera. The first being that the five zang-viscera are related to mental activities. Stated within Chapter 47 of the Spirit Pivot is: "The so-called five zang-viscera, store the spirit, blood, qi, etherial soul,and soul". That is to say that the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney are all closely related to mental activities, "the spirit, blood, qi, etherial soul and soul". These represent different mental activities and are attributed to the five zang-viscera, for example "The heart stores mind," "The lung stores soul," "The spleen stores intention," "The liver stores etherial soul," and "The kidney stores will". The second characteristic is that the five zang-viscera dominate the storage of essential qi. In ancient times, the Chinese character Ôà[zang] (meaning internal organ, i.e. viscus) was written as ²Ø[cang], which
indicates "to store". The five zang-viscera dominating storage refers to the storage of various essential substances for life activities, such as the qi, blood, essence and body fluids, etc. "The heart stores vessels," "The lung stores qi," "The spleen stores nutrientqi," "The liver stores blood," "The kidney stores essence," etc.
The common physiological characteristics of the six fu-viscera are to receive, transform and digest drink and food. In ancient tome, the Chinese character ¸ [fu] (another meaning for internal organ) was written as ¸® [fu], which corresponds to hollow organ.A hollow organs is one in which things are held and received, exited and entered. The main function of the six fu-viscera is to transport and transform. These organs receive and decompose food, absorb the nutrient substances and then excrete the waste matter.This is a continuous process, alternating between emptiness and fullness. The six fu-viscera do not store the essential qi.
Chapter 11 in Plain Questions states: "The five zang-viscera store the essential qi but not discharge it, so they are full, but can not be filled up. The six fu-viscera transform and digest the matter but do not store it, thus, they are filled, yet are not full. " This quotation not only shows the summarization of the physiological functions of the five zang-viscera and six fu-viscera, but also points out the principal difference in physiological functions.
The extraordinary organs are similar to the six fu-viscera in morphology, but differ in that they do not receive drink and food directly. The extraordinary organs store essential qi without discharging it, as do the five zang-viscera, but they lack the complicated physiological functions. This is why they are known as the "extraordinary organs", to differentiate themselves from both the zang-viscera and fu-viscera.
The differences between the zang-viscera and fu-viscera not only explain their physiological characteristics, but also are significant in clinical practice. Zang-viscera diseases mostly result from a deficiency syndrome, while fu-viscera diseases result from a excess syndrome. An excess syndrome of the zang-viscera can be treated by reducing their correspondent fu-viscera. Conversely, a deficiency syndrome of fu-viscera may be cured by reinforcing their correspondent zang-viscera. The below sections are summarizations of expriences in oractice.
