Name: Ma.

Sex: Female.

Age: 58 years.

0ccupation: A housewife.

Chief Complaint: Swelling-pain of right knee-joint for half a month.

History of Present Illness: Half a month ago, the patient got a pain in the right knee-joint without obvious causes, and then the right knee-joint quickly swelled. Furthermore, it got worse and worse in the next several days, the pain got more and more severe. In addition, if the right knee joint was touched upon, there was wave sensation around it, so that it' s difficult for her to walk about and go upstairs. Then she came here for treatment on August 10,1996.

Physical Examination: The patient was conscious with a normal general condition. The pulse was thready, soggy and slippery, the tongue was pale with a thick layer of white fur. The right knee-joint swelled severely. If it was touched upon, there was wave sensation around the knee-joint. There was no tenderness in the joint. The skin of the affected region was normal in colour and temperature. There wasn't other abnormal sign.

Diagnosis: Effusion of Knee joint.

Differentiation: This disease, in TCM, belongs to "the category of "ShiBi-syndrome"(wet type arthralgia). It was caused by deficiency of spleen and kidney Yang, which caused the physiologic water and the body fluid couldn't be transported and distributed normally. Then some physiologic water and some body fluid were obstructed in the channel and then flooded into the knee-joint. Therapeutic Principle: Invigorating kidney-Yang and spleen Yang, nourishing qi and nourishing blood, activating blood to resolve stasis, dredging the obstructed channel in order to eliminate the pathogenic water.

Recipe:

GouJi,Cibot Rhizome 30g

ShengHuangQi,Raw Milkvetch Root 30g

DangGui,Chinese Angelica Root 10g

YiYiRen,Coix Seed 100g

CangZhu,Atractylodes Rhizome 25g

BaiJieZi,White Mustard Seed 15g

TuFuLing, Smilax Glabra Rhizome 30g

HanFangJi,Tetrandra Root 25g

NiuXi,Achyranthes Root 20g

DiBieChong,Ground Beetle 5g

SuMu,Sappan Wood 15g

JiXueTeng,Spatholobus Stem 30g

HaiFengTeng,Futokadsura Stem 20g

LuoShiTeng,Chinese Starjasmine 20g

GanCao,Liquorice Root 12g

All the above drugs were to be decocted in water for oral taking. 3 doses were prescribed. Greasy and cold food was forbidden.

Effect Observation: After taking the decoction, the swelling of the right knee-joint was relieved greatly. She could walk about, go upstairs or downstairs without any pain. Then she was told to continue taking 5 doses of the above prescription again. After taking this 5 doses, the pain and the swelling of the right knee-joint disappeared at all. If touched upon, there was no wave sensation anymore. It indicated the effusion in the right knee-joint disappeared. After 2 months' follow up, the illness didn' t recur. Then it' s ending.