Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostic Patterns
Below are links to relationship and treatment details for many common Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostic patterns as they are used with acupuncture, herbs, and/or other aspects of Chinese Medicine. Generally in Chinese Medicine theory, the condition (i.e. the patients specific issues or symptoms) is not what treatment is based on. As symptoms/issues may arise from differing causes or a complex relationship of multiple causes, treating "conditions" will generally lead to poor treatment results. For more on this, please read "What Does Acupuncture Treat? or treating the cause and not the symptoms".
Of utmost importance in Chinese Medicine is using a range of diagnostic procedures, most notably the tongue and the pulse, to arrive at the TCM diagnostic pattern - or the description of how the persons issues came to be. This pattern helps illuminate what treatment options are available and what path to follow to resolution.
If you are entirely new to TCM diagnoses, a series of articles posted on our blog serve to illuminate the major systems and related patterns in the body:
Further Exploration - Theory and Treatments

Theory & Diagnosis
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Patterns & Treatment Protocols
Explore Conditions, Patterns and Treatment Protocols...
Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostic Patterns
We currently have clinical details and relationships for 62 TCM diagnostic patterns
B
H
- Heart Blood Deficiency
- Heart Blood Stagnation
- Heart Fire
- Heart Qi Deficiency
- Heart Yang Collapse
- Heart Yang Deficiency
- Heart Yin Deficiency
- Heat in the Blood
K
L
- Large Intestine Blood Stagnation
- Large Intestine Cold
- Large Intestine Damp Heat
- Large Intestine Dryness
- Liver and Gallbladder Damp Heat
- Liver Attacking the Spleen
- Liver Blood Deficiency
- Liver Blood Stagnation
- Liver Cold Stagnation
- Liver Fire
- Liver Qi Stagnation
- Liver Wind
- Liver Yang Rising
- Liver Yin Deficiency
- Lung Dampness - Phlegm Cold
- Lung Dampness - Phlegm Heat
- Lung Dryness
- Lung Qi Deficiency
- Lung Rebellious Qi
- Lung Wind Invasion - Wind Cold
- Lung Wind Invasion - Wind Heat
- Lung Yin Deficiency
P
S
- Shen Disturbance
- Spleen and Stomach Damp Heat
- Spleen Blood Deficiency
- Spleen Invasion - Cold Damp
- Spleen Not Controlling the Blood
- Spleen Qi Deficiency
- Spleen Qi Sinking
- Spleen Yang Deficiency
- Stomach Blood Stagnation
- Stomach Cold
- Stomach Dampness
- Stomach Fire
- Stomach Food Stagnation
- Stomach Qi Deficiency
- Stomach Rebellious Qi
- Stomach Yin Deficiency
- Summer Heat
Recent Questions From Our Forum...
Have questions about TCM Patterns? Or want to discuss treatment techniques? You may reach us and our community of practitioners by using our forums
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