Section 3 Body Fluid
I. Concept of Body Fluid
Body fluid is a general term for all normal liquid in the body,including the intestinal juice and normal excretion of the viscera, tissues and organs, such as gastric juice, intestinal juice and nasal juice, tears etc. Like qi and blood, body fluid is the substance to make up the body and maintain the life activities of the body.
Body fluid can be divided into din and Ye. Though both of them come from the food taken, and are formed through the transpcrtation and transformation function of the spleen and stomach, they differ in their properties, function and distribution. Generally,din refers to the thin and clear body liquid with strong mobility, which scatters in the skin, muscles and orifices and is able to permeate into the blood vessels to function moistening. Ye refers the turbid body fluid with weak mobility which pours into the joints,viscera,brain and marrow to function nourish. Both din and Ye can change into each other,therefore they are generally termed din Ye (body fluid).
II. Formation, Distribution and Excretion of Body Fluid
1. Formation
Body fluid derives from the drink and food. It's formed through the digestion function of the stomach, separating refine substance from the dross substance of the small intestinal function, and the transporting function of the spleen, So it relates to the physiological activities of the stomach, small intestine and spleen that body fluid is abundant or not.
2. Distribution
Distribution of body fluid are accomplished mainly by the joint functions of the spleen, lung, kidney, and triple-jiao.
The spleen's action on the body fluid distribution.By its trasportation and transfor. mation function,the spleen on one hand transfer the fluid up to the lung;on the other hand,it distributes the fluid throughout the body,which is the function of "distributing the essence'of the spleen.
The lung's action on the body fluid distribution:By its dispersing function,the lung distributes the fluids to all parts of body,externally to the skin and hair. By its depurative descending function,on the other hand, the lung sends the fluid downward to perforn nourishing and moistening function of body fluid.
The evaporating and transformative functions of the kidney control the metabolism of body fluid. All the fluid in the body will distribute throughout the body via the functions of evaporating and sending up the clear and sending downward of the turbid.
Triple-jiao is the passage for the distributing of body fluid. Via this passage way,the body fluid distributes throughout the body,and circulates constantly with qi ascending,descending,exiting and entering.
3. Excretion
Excretion of body fluid is accomplished mainly through the metabolism, such as
sweating and urination, which relate to the functional activities of the lung, kidney and gall bladder.
The lung's action on the excretion of body fluid is manifested in the following:body fluid dispersed to the surface of the body is discharged as sweat by metabolism,and those descended to the kidney and gall bladder is changed into urine and is discharged out of the body.
The kidney plays an important dominating function in the excretion of the body fluid. By its evaporating and transformative function, the kidney on one hand promotes the function of adjusting water metabolism of the Stomach ,spleen, lung, small intestine and triple-jiao;on the other hand,it controls the formation and excretion of the urine,so as to adjust the metabolism balance of the fluid in the body. The gall bladder has the function of storing and discharging urine. It also involve in the water metabolism.
Generally speaking ,the formation ,distribution and excretion of the body fluid ,and the maintenance of its metabolism balance,all deend on the balance in a series physiological activities of qi and viscera, chiefly on the physiologcal functions of the lung,spleen and kidney.
III. Pathological Functions
Moistening and nourishing are the physiological functions of body fluid. For example ,when the body fluid is distributed to the body surface, it moistens the skin ,hair and muscle;when permeating into the orifices ,it moistens and protects the orifices, such as the eyes,nose and mouth ;when disffuing into the vessels ,it nourishes and smoothes the vessels ,and acts as the basic components of blood;when pouring into internal viscera ,it nourishes and moistens these viscera; when seeping into the bones, it nourishes and moistens the bones marrow ,spinal core and brain.
