Physiological Characteristics of the Liver
The liver's characteristics are manifested in the following aspects:
1) As a Firm-Characterized Organ.
"Firm-characterized" refers to its staunchness and restlessness. The liver was likened to the "general" by the ancient doctors, who took its general disposition to be firm, sharp, and movement-oriented. For this reason, when the liver is diseased, liver-qi tends toward movability and hyperactivity. This is why there is a saying that the liver is characterized by "its body pertaining to yin with its function to yang. " "The body pertaining to yin" implies that the liver is an organ storing blood and located in the lower, both pertaining to yin. The normal functioning of the liver relies upon the nourishment of liver-blood. Being a firm-characterized organ, it can not function well without moistness and nourishment. "The function pertaining to yang" refers to two aspects: first, from the physiological perspective, ministerial fire resides in the liver, which is an organ of wind-wood, which dominates ascending and moving, pertaining to yang; and secondly,from the pathological perspective, liver-yin and liver-blood are prone to be in deficiency, while liver-yang tends toward hyperactivity.
When the liver is diseased, ascendant hyperactivity of: liver-yang often appears,causing liver-wind stirring within, and resulting in such symptoms as dizziness and vertigo, spasm of the tendons, convulsion, and so on. In addition, failure of the liver in its conducting and dispersing functions may cause qi stagnation and blood stasis. Depressed liver-qi may turn into the fire and consume liver-yin and liver-blood, leading further to ascendant hyperactivity of liver-yang. Generally, during pathological processes, the liver is unique in that the morbidity of its yang-qi is usually attributable to superabundance, while yang-qi of other viscera is prone to deficiency. Similarly, liver-yin and liver-blood are usually prone to deficiency. This is summed up in the axiom,"Liver-qi and liver-yang are usually abundant, while liver-yin and liver-blood are usually insufficient. "
2) Likeness of Flourish and Smooth, and Dislikeness of Depression.
The liver belongs to the wood, corresponding to growth-qi of spring in the natural world, and only it is in softness, smooth, dispersion and flourish, can the liver perform its function of conducting and dispersing. Excessive anger, or depressed mental attitude,or a low mood are all prone to affect the function of the liver, hindering its growth and flourishing. Excessive anger may lead to the hyperactivity of liver-yang, resulting in flushed face, conjunctive congestion, fullness of the head. and headache; low mood may cause stagntion of the qi; persistent depression of the qi may transform into heat, and further, turns into fire, giving rise to syndromes of liver-fire and liver-wind, etc.
3) Correspondence to Spring
In accordance with the theory of"correspondence between man and nature", the liver corresponds to spring. All things on earth are awakening in the springtime, which is very much in the air. The liver disorder may improve in spring, because it derive supplement from the shaoyang-qi in the natural world. However, if wind-qi is excessive in spring, there may be disadvantageous influence to the liver.
