Chapter 406: Chapter 406: The Tongue is the Sprout of the Heart
Lin Guorui and Hu Qiming were woken up by Li Xu.
Rubbing their sleepy eyes, the two asked in confusion, "What? What method?"
Li Xu concisely explained his treatment plan to them. "I need raw Da Huang, gotu kola, perilla leaf, and other herbs. Please go to the pharmacy immediately, brew the medicine, and prepare an enema. I need to go home to get an An Gong Bezoar Pill."
The two of them shook off their drowsiness. Lin Guorui threw on his clothes. "I’ll go get the herbs."
Hu Qiming asked, "Li Xu, I have a car. I’ll drive you."
"Okay."
Li Xu accepted without hesitation.
On the way, Hu Qiming couldn’t help but ask as he drove, "Li Xu, are you really confident you can cure her? The patient’s condition is extremely dangerous right now."
Li Xu thought for a moment before replying, "I’ll do my best and leave the rest to fate. But based on my judgment, there’s a very high probability. As long as the medicine and the needles do their work, we should be able to save her."
In less than half an hour, Hu Qiming brought Li Xu back to the emergency room of the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
By this time, Director Han, Xue Shuheng, Zhu Quanxin, and the others had gotten the news and rushed over, wanting to see what "unconventional trick" Li Xu had up his sleeve.
As soon as Li Xu entered, he handed the An Gong Bezoar Pill to a nurse who was on standby. "Please grind this An Gong Bezoar Pill with 10 milliliters of clear water and dissolve it. The finer, the better."
The nurse took the pill and quickly went to prepare it.
Once the pill was dissolved,
Li Xu had the nurse dip a cotton swab in the medicinal liquid, lift Wang Qianqian’s lips, and continuously dab the liquid onto the surface of her tongue.
Xue Shuheng’s brow furrowed at the sight.
He was a TCM expert, after all.
Although he was somewhat dismissive of Li Xu’s "unconventional trick," seeing Li Xu apply the medicine to the tongue, he understood the principle behind it.
The tongue is the "sprout of the heart," closely connected to the zang-fu organs and meridians.
By applying medicine to the tongue’s surface, the medicinal power could be transmitted through the meridians directly to the heart’s orifices, thereby opening the orifices and rousing the spirit.
At the same time, Li Xu took out the steel needles he carried with him and performed acupuncture on the patient’s "Drainage Ditch" point.
He employed a twirling-reducing technique, deftly rotating the steel needle with his fingertips.
The Drainage Ditch point is located on the Governor Vessel and is the meeting point of the Hand and Foot Yangming meridians with the Governor Vessel. It has the effects of opening the orifices, clearing heat, rousing the brain, calming the spirit, and harmonizing yin and yang, making it a crucial point for resuscitating someone from a coma.
Throughout the entire process, Li Xu’s movements were steady and swift, each step performed with complete confidence.
Although Director Han of the emergency department was perplexed by Li Xu’s treatment methods, given the astonishing medical skills Li Xu had previously displayed with difficult and complex cases, he did not voice any objections and simply observed quietly.
Next came the enema.
After a period of tense and busy treatment, the time was already past one in the morning.
As everyone took a short break, Director Han could no longer contain his doubts and asked, "Doctor Li, we can more or less understand the acupuncture, but the tongue application and the enema... what is the reasoning for these in TCM theory?"
Li Xu took the cup of water Hu Qiming handed him, wet his throat, and began to explain, "Director Han, from the perspective of TCM’s zang-fu and visceral manifestation theory, the human body is an organic whole. The zang-fu organs are interconnected and influence each other through the meridians."
Just as the ancient texts say, ’The tongue is the sprout of the heart.’
The tongue is the external manifestation of the heart and is directly connected to the Heart Meridian.
By dissolving the An Gong Bezoar Pill in water and applying it to the tongue while the patient is in a coma, we are using the meridian connection between the tongue and the heart to deliver the medicinal power directly to the heart’s orifices. This achieves the awakening effect of clearing heat, detoxifying, opening the orifices, and rousing the spirit.
This is a very effective method of administration for comatose patients who cannot take medication orally."
After listening, Director Han raised a question, "Doctor Li, a coma is a brain condition. Why do you keep emphasizing the role of the ’heart’? Shouldn’t it be ’the brain governs consciousness’?"
Li Xu shook his head and further explained the difference in understanding between Chinese and Western medicine. "Director Han, this is precisely where the theoretical systems of TCM and Western medicine differ."
From a Western medical perspective, the brain is the body’s command center, governing a person’s consciousness and thoughts.
But in classical TCM theory, ’the heart governs consciousness,’ and the heart is considered the master of all mental and conscious activities."
"Although in modern times some TCM scholars have advocated changing ’the heart governs consciousness’ to ’the brain governs consciousness’ in an attempt to align with Western medical theory, I must be blunt: I believe this approach deviates from the true essence of TCM."
"TCM places more emphasis on a holistic view. In our theory, the brain is classified as an ’Extraordinary Fu-Organ,’ and its nourishment is closely related to the kidney essence."
"Therefore, when treating the brain, TCM often approaches it from the perspective of the kidneys, focusing on tonifying the kidneys and nourishing the essence to indirectly regulate brain function."
"But for this patient’s current comatose state, the diagnosis is ’phlegm-toxin clouding the heart and obstructing the clear orifices.’ The primary pathogenesis is that the heart-spirit is clouded, so we must start with the ’heart’ to open the orifices and rouse the spirit."
Director Han was a bit lost. He scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly, "Doctor Li, your TCM theory is truly profound and difficult to grasp. I’m afraid I can’t fully understand it all at once."
Even though Director Han worked at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the emergency department was staffed by Western-trained doctors. He himself came from a Western medical background, so he couldn’t comprehend Li Xu’s explanation.
Li Xu responded, "Director Han, TCM and Western medicine don’t necessarily need to fully understand each other. The key is to let those who do understand play to their respective strengths. Western medicine has unparalleled advantages in emergency treatment and life support, while TCM has its unique features in pattern differentiation and holistic conditioning. Only by combining the two can we better save patients."
Although Director Han felt a bit awkward, he had to agree with Li Xu’s point.
Li Xu continued to elaborate, "Now, let’s return to the analysis of the patient’s etiology. Carbon monoxide, from a TCM perspective, is a type of warm-toxin qi. This toxic qi first invades the lung system, leading to stagnation of lung qi and the internal accumulation of phlegm-heat."
"As the condition progresses, the warm-toxin pathogen will further transmit upwards to the pericardium, clouding the heart-spirit and thus inducing the patient’s coma."
"Combining the patient’s current symptoms—a dark and dusky complexion, systemic swelling, excessive phlegm and saliva, persistent high fever, and a deep coma—we can diagnose this as a classic case of ’phlegm-toxin clouding the heart and obstructing the clear orifices.’ This is a critical sign of overwhelming toxins and a life-threatening illness, urgently requiring us to clear heat, detoxify, expel phlegm, and open the orifices."
"Therefore, my first choice was the An Gong Bezoar Pill precisely because of its powerful ability to clear heat, detoxify, resolve phlegm, open the orifices, rouse the brain, and calm the spirit. And the method of dissolving it in water for sublingual application is an experienced technique from esteemed veteran TCM masters like old Mr. Deng Tietao. It allows the medicinal power to rapidly reach the heart’s orifices through the sublingual meridians, maximizing its effect."
"As for the patient’s obstruction of urination and defecation, systemic swelling, and thick, turbid tongue coating, these are even more malignant signs that the warm-toxin pathogen has permeated the Triple Burner and filled both the inside and outside of the zang-fu organs."
"If not expelled in time, the toxins will accumulate in large amounts within the body, ultimately endangering her life."
"However, the patient cannot take medication orally, and her intravenous access is also obstructed."
As he spoke, Li Xu’s gaze swept over the room, then suddenly landed on Hu Qiming. He asked, "Dr. Hu, why don’t you explain why, under these circumstances, we chose to use an enema?"
