Introduction to Chinese Medicine, Eight

Introduction to Chinese Medicine, Eight

Body Structure, Organ Systems, and Meridians

An organ is considered to be a complete system that includes the physical organ, its associated meridian , tissue, Element, body area, sense organ, taste, season, colour, sound, two-hour time period within the twenty-four hours of a day, and emotion. Because this idea of an organ is so vastly different than that of Western science, when referring to organs in Chinese medicine, the terms are capitalized. For example, when referring to the kidney organ system, Chinese medicine would write “Kidney” rather than “kidney.”

Chinese anatomy includes all of the muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels, etc. at the center of Chinese anatomy are the meridians. Meridians are part of the web of Organ systems. Organ systems are associated with a particular type of Qi and with each Organ. There is no separation between the physical organ and its Qi.

Think of a friend of yours. When you think of this person, you actually consider many things about them – their physical body, whom they might be in a relationship with, their job, their general outlook on life, the sound of their voice, colour of their skin, their family, where they live – all of these things are combined together in your sense of this person. This way of thinking is systemic. You are able to hold many types of information about a single person all at once – it just makes sense.

We must develop this kind of sense of Organ systems in order to understand the body as viewed by Chinese medicine. In this way, when you think of Kidney, you will immediately consider the kidney organs, bones, low back area, the Kidney and Bladder meridians, water, winter, ears, fear, salty, groaning, blue, black, all at the same time – simple!

Later we will explore each Organ system in detail. For now, the goal is to open your mind to the notion of Qi, Energy, as being the basis from which the body manifests. The brilliance of this system of medicine is how it fully incorporates Qi into its understanding of health, illness, and recovery.

By observing Nature, we are able to attune ourselves to the same body of knowledge that the ancients pondered in order to synthesize this medicine. We benefit directly from their dedication and skill as we enter into our own study of Meridian Massage. We honour the knowledge that has been passed down and preserved by so many compassionate practitioners as we persevere in our study of this brilliant health system and well-being today.

Meridian Massage,

Cindy Black