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Thezangfu (simplified Chinese:脏腑;traditional Chinese:臟腑;pinyin:zàngfǔ) are functional relationships stipulated bytraditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This concept did not primarily develop out of anatomical biological considerations, but from cosmological patterns and influences.
Eachzang is paired with afu, and each pair is assigned to one of theWuxing (Five Elements). Thezangfu are also connected to thetwelve standard meridians – eachzang organ is attached to a yin meridian, and eachfu organ, to a yang meridian. They are five systems of Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney.[1][2][3]
To highlight the fact that thezangfu are not equivalent to the anatomical organs, their names are often capitalized.
Thezangfu were originally considered to represent physical organs inSuwen. A few rare waves of human dissection throughout Chinese history have contributed some refinements to the rough anatomical assumptions in traditional Chinese medicine, though no fundamental errors were corrected (blood vessels remain mistaken as "thinmeridians").[4] In this context, the influx of western anatomical knowledge lead to a crisis for TCM. This was resolved byYun tieqiao [zh]'s introduction ofZangxiang (藏象/脏象) theory in the 1920s, which decoupled thezangfu from anatomical organs.[5]
Eachzangfu organ has ayin and a yang aspect, but overall, thezang organs are considered to be yin, and thefu organs, yang.[6]
Since the concept of thezangfu was developed on the basis ofwuxing philosophy, they are incorporated into a system of allocation to one of five elemental qualities (i.e., the Five goings or Five Phases). Thezangfu share their respective element's allocations (e.g., diagnostics of colour, sound, odour and emotion etc.) and interact with each other cyclically in the same way the Five Elements do: eachzang organ has one correspondingzang organ that it disperses, and one that it reinforces or tonifying and sedative.[7]
The correspondence betweenzangfu and Five Elements are stipulated as:
Thezang organs' essential functions consist in manufacturing and storingqi and blood (and, in the case of the Kidney,jing or essence). The hollowfu organs' main purpose is to transmit and digest (传化,pinyin:chuánhuà) substances (like waste, food, etc.).[8]
Eachzang has a corresponding "orifice" it "opens" into. This means the functional entity of a givenzang includes the corresponding orifice's functions (e.g. blurry vision is primarily seen as a dysfunction of the Liverzang because the Liver channel "opens" into the eyes).
In listing the functions of thezang organs, TCM regularly uses the term "governing" (主;zhǔ) – indicating that the main responsibility of regulating something (e.g. blood,qi, water metabolism etc.) lies with a certainzang.
Although thezang are primarily functional entities, TCM gives vague locations for them – namely, the general area where the anatomical organ of the same name would be found. One could argue that this (or any) positioning of thezang is irrelevant for the TCM system; there is some relevance, however, in whether a certainzang would be attributed to the upper, middle or lowerjiao.
Since there are only fivezang organs but sixfu channels, the remaining meridian is assigned to the Pericardium. Its concept is closely related to the Heart, and its stipulated main function is to protect the Heart from attacks by exterior pathogenic factors.
The function of the Lung is to disperse and descendqi throughout the body. It receivesqi through the breath, and exhales the waste, and aids the peristaltic action of the gastrointestinal tract. A properly functioning Lung organ will ensure the skin and hair are of good quality, and that the immune system is strong and able to fight disease. The normal direction of the Lung is descending, but when Lungqi "rebels", it goes upwards, causing coughing and wheezing. When the Lung is weak, there can be skin conditions such as eczema, thin or brittle hair, and a propensity to catching colds and flu. The Lung is weakened by dryness and the emotion of grief or sadness.
The Kidneys storejing Essence. They also produce the Marrow which fills the spinal cord, brain and control the bones. The Kidneys are often referred to as the "Root of Life" or the "Root of the Pre-Heaven Qi".
The concept of thezangfu is not identified byevidence based medicine – the underlying assumptions and theory have not been verified orfalsified by controlled experiments. As the study and practice of Traditional Chinese medicine's mechanisms are comparatively new in the west it has been criticized aspseudoscientific.[15]
