TCM Diagnosis
The four diagnostic methods: inspection, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation.
50 articles · Page 1 of 5
Cough Diagnosis in TCM: Reading the Sound, Timing, and Phlegm to Find the Pattern
A practical guide to TCM cough diagnosis — how the sound of the cough, the time it peaks, the color and texture of the phlegm, and accompanying symptoms reveal whether the cause is wind-cold, wind-heat, phlegm-heat, or Lung deficiency.
Thirst in TCM Diagnosis (口渴): The Most Overlooked Question a Clinician Asks
Thirst (口渴) is one of TCM's richest diagnostic clues — but the key is not 'are you thirsty,' it's 'do you actually want to drink, and how much?' Learn how the desire, reluctance, temperature preference, and timing of thirst reveal heat, damp-heat, Yin deficiency, blood stasis, and Yang deficiency.
Complexion Diagnosis in TCM (望面色): Reading Health and Disease in the Color of the Face
Complexion diagnosis (望面色) is the heart of TCM inspection. Learn how the five colors — green, red, yellow, white, and black — map to organs and disease patterns, how to tell normal color from sick color, and what a changed complexion reveals.
The Ten Questions (十问歌): TCM's Time-Tested Guide to Taking a Case History
The Ten Questions (十问歌), first set down by Zhang Jingyue and refined by Chen Xiuyuan, is the classic TCM inquiry framework. Learn each verse, what it reveals about cold, heat, deficiency and excess, and how modern practitioners still use it.
Fever Diagnosis in TCM: Reading the Pattern of Heat
In TCM, the way a fever behaves matters more than the number on the thermometer. Fever with chills, fever without chills, afternoon tidal fever, alternating fever-and-chills, and low-grade deficiency heat each signal a different pattern — exterior vs. interior, excess vs. deficiency — and a different treatment.
Headache Diagnosis in TCM: Where It Hurts Tells You Which Meridian Is Involved
In TCM, a headache is not one condition — it is many, distinguished first by WHERE it hurts. Pain at the back of the head, forehead, temples, or crown points to a different meridian and a different treatment. This is the classical 'headache by location' system, combined with the nature of the pain.
The Ten Questions of TCM Inquiry Diagnosis (十问歌): A 300-Year-Old Checklist That Still Works
The 'Ten Questions Song' (十问歌) is a memorized verse that TCM doctors have used since 1746 to ensure no diagnostic information is missed during patient interviews. This article explains each question, why it matters, and how a poem written in the Qing dynasty remains clinically relevant today.
Pediatric Tongue Diagnosis in TCM: Reading Children's Tongues for Health Insights
Learn how TCM tongue diagnosis adapts for infants and children — from newborn coating patterns to toddler tongue colors, and how to read pediatric tongues when young patients can't describe their symptoms.
Sublingual Vein Diagnosis in TCM: Reading the Tongue's Hidden Veins
Learn about sublingual vein diagnosis (舌下络脉诊法), a specialized TCM diagnostic method that examines the veins beneath the tongue to assess blood stasis, circulation health, and organ function — a window into the body's vascular system.
TCM Appetite Diagnosis: What Your Hunger, Thirst, and Taste Reveal
Discover how TCM reads appetite, thirst patterns, taste preferences, and eating behaviors to diagnose organ imbalances. Learn why craving sweets, always feeling thirsty, or having no appetite each tell a specific clinical story.