Name: Qi.

Sex: Female.

Age: 42 years.

0ccupation: A peasant.

Chief Complaint: Vexation, restlessness and insomnia for 10 years.

History of Present Illness: Ten years ago, the patient had a normal parturition, since then, she could not have helped being vexed and restless usually. She was often irritated unaccoun-tably, and got greatly angry at some trivial. Even without any causes, could she get vexed and restless easily. When she was angry, she got a sensation of insufferable hot in her chest and abdomen, accompanied with dryness of mouth and tongue without thirst. In addition, the patient' s skin was dry, rough and eo1d usually. The sensation of hot in her chest and abdomen became more severe in every evening and night, so that it caused she got insomnia. When the patient was lying on bed, she thought everything over and over, she then couldn't sleep at all throughout night. When it was her menstrual period or a week before her menstrual period, there was a distending pain in her waist, legs and lower abdomen, and the above symptom became more severe. Her menstrual period was less than 3 days usually and her menstruation was less in amount, dark red in colour with some blood clots in it. In the past 10 years, she had got many kinds of lab test from the hospitals in Nanjing, all results of the tests were all in normal limit. Then she was treated by using tranquillixers. During the treatment, she became depressed, but after the treatment, the sickness got more severe than before. After many times of such repeated treatment, there was not effect on her at all. Then she asked some doctors of TCM for treatment, and she was treated by using some heat-clearing drugs, Yin-nourishing drugs and nerve-calming drugs, but there was no effect on her either. At last, an old TCM doctor told her that the sickness could be cured by pregnancy and artificial abortion. Then she got 3 times of pregnancy and artificial abortion. Not only the illness wasn't cured, but also the patient became completely exhausted with aching waist and knees and sallow complexion. Then she came to me for treatment on August 29, 1997 through one of my friends. Since this illness came on, her appetite and urine had been all normal, the stool was hardness and was moved once every 3 or 4 days. There was not other complaint.

History of menstruation: 14 1£­3 1997-7-16.

Physical Examination: The patient was spiritless with a sallow complexion. The skin was dry and rough, if touched upon, it was cooler than normal. The pulse was thready and uneven, the tongue was dark red with less fur, the chest and abdomen were all normal. There was not other ahnormal sign.

Diagnosis : Mania.

Differentiation: It's syndrome of blood stasis in the' internal 0rgans,which had been named as "Lantern Disease" in the book of correction on the errors of medical worrs written by Wang Qingren. It was described: "Lantern disease was hot inside the body and cool outside the body, so that it's called 'lantern disease,' it was just caused by blood stasis in the internal organs. "The characteristics of this case were hot in the chest and abdomen and cooler outside the body, accompanied with dry and rough skin, dryness of mouth and tongue without thirst and insomnia. Furthermore, the menstruation was less in amount with unsmoothly bleeding and short menstrual period. They are all the typical syndromes resulted from blood stasis.

Therapeutic Principle: Activating blood to eliminate stagnation.

Recipe: Modified Decoction of Removing Blood stasis in the Chest Formulated by Wang Qingren.

ShengDiHuang,Dried Rehmannia Root 12g

DangGui,Chinese Angelica Root 12g

ChuanXiong,Chuanxiong Rhizome fig

HongHua, Safflower fig

TaoRen,Peach Seed 10g

ChiShao,Red Peony Root 12g

NiuXi, Achyranthes Root 12g

MuDanPi,Tree Peony Bark 6g

ShanZhi,Capejasmine fruit 6g

HuangLian,Coptis Root 6g

ZhiKe,Fruit of Citron 10g

ChaiHu,Bupliurum Root 6g

DouChi,Prepared Soybean 9g

ShengDaHuang,Raw Rhubarb 6g (to be decocted later)

All the above drugs were to be decocted in water for oral administration. She was told to take 10 doses of the above prescription. Hot and greasy food was forbidden during the treatment.

Effect Observation: After taking the 10 doses, her restlessness and the vexation disappeared, the patient was calmed, especially the insomnia disappeared too, she could have been sleeping for 6 to 8 hours at night. Her stool was moved once a day, and the stool was normal. Her menstruation occurred on September 10, 1997,it was more in amount than before, the bleeding became smoothly without any uncomfortable sensations. All the above signs showed the sickness had been cured. Then she was told to nurse herself with blood-nourishing and qi invigorating drugs. After 3 years' follow-up, the sickness didn' t recur. Then it' s ending.