DIAGNOSIS

The diagnosis of a patient’s condition in TCM consists of three activities: an extensive interview, pulse diagnosis, and a tongue examination.

	Interview: The first step in diagnosing a patient’s condition is an extensive interview by the TCM practitioner.  In addition to seeking information about the patient’s complaints, the practitioner will ask detailed questions about such issues as quality of sleep, dreams, appetite, preferred foods, and stress.  The practitioner is also trained to use the senses of observation, listening, and smelling.  Although smell is often camouflaged in the West by perfumes, deodorants, and breath mints, the Chinese believe it provides further knowledge about a person's health.  In the Five Element Theory, each element has a corresponding smell associated with it.
	Pulse Diagnosis: Whereas Western doctors locate one pulse on the radial artery in the wrist, a practitioner of TCM feels for six pulses in each wrist: three superficial and three deep at specific points along the radial artery. The twelve pulses correspond to the internal organs.   For example, a deep pulse reading on the left wrist corresponds, top to bottom, to the heart, liver and kidney. Practitioners note the quality of the pulse in terms of frequency, rhythm, and volume and the Chinese have developed an elaborate vocabulary to describe a pulse, such as floating, thready, and slippery. Pulse taking requires years of training to master and is considered one of the most important diagnostic tools in Chinese medicine.
	Tongue Examination: In addition to the pulse, the Chinese believe that the tongue is a strong barometer of human health. They developed an elaborate system to describe the condition of the tongue, including the color, texture, shape, size, and coating.  A very red tongue indicates a fever or inflammation and is described in TCM as an excessive internal heat or dampness condition. A white tongue indicates some kind of deficiency of energy (Qi), blood, or moisture. In this system, each part of the tongue corresponds to the condition of an organ. The tip of the tongue, for example, represents the heart and lung organs.

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