In the following meridian documents, you will see the word “syndrome” referred to.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, and in this context, a syndrome is “A group of symptoms which consistently occur together, or a condition characterised by a set of associated symptoms.”

In TCM, a syndrome usually consists of 2 or 3 parts. 1. The Organ, 2. the substance involved (Qi, Blood, Jing etc) and 3. whether it is a deficiency, excess, stagnation etc. If the Syndrome isn’t organ specific, or substance specific, one of these may be left out of the name, however, the end part is usually present.

E.g.

• Heart Blood Stagnation
• Kidney Yin Deficiency
• Liver Yang Rising
• Small Intestine Damp Heat (part 3 is not here as the fact that Damp Heat is present is the issue)
• Spleen Deficiency (Part 2 is not here as the deficiency is general)
• Qi Stagnation (Part 1 is not here as the organ is either unknown, or this is affecting multiple organs)

The following documents will describe organ specific syndromes, and relate those to symptoms, and example acupuncture or herbal treatments that may be appropriate. Please note, the treatments details are not protocols, they are examples of acupuncture points or herbs that may be used, but this is diagnosis dependant.