That Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete system of primary health care is obvious to those who have devoted years in its study. However, for many who might appreciate a deeper understanding ofits theories and principles, especially as it applies to the maintenance of health and the cure of disease, it would be useful to correlate as best as possible the relationship between the profound concepts of TCM with what is known and can be corroborated from Western physiology. From this we may be able to arriveat a better understanding of how certain herbs and and even Western drug medicines exert their therapeutic
effects.
The Chinese, famed for their pragmatic outlook, historically tended to assume the presence of an organ by a process of induction. Perceiving a physiological function, they then attempted to describe or even invent,as in the case of such ubiquitous organ functions as the so called Triple Warmer (i.e. the overall regulation of fluid and heat throughout the entire body), appropriate organs and corresponding meridians. Further,since most herbs tend to have broader, more nutritive actions than chemical drugs, there was generally little need for specificity.
TCM Kidney Yin and Kidney Yang involves the regulation of electrolyte balance of sodium and potassium,necessary for the circulation of bioelectrical energy throughout the body. Further, the TCM concept ofkidney yin very prominently involves the secretion of glucocorticoid hormone, cortisol, from the adrenal cortex. Kidney yang in addition to involving adrenaline secretions of the adrenal medula, also involve otherendocrine functions including the pituitary and thyroid glands. What TCM offers is a more holistic view ofthe dynamic interplay of complex physiological phenomena. This is especially useful for clinical practice.
What it does not offer are specific physiological processes which are the well earned domain of Westernscientific medicine. Given the difference between the two in point of view, it seems that learning to viewhealth and disease from both perspectives will ultimately offer a broader, more comprehensive approach to health care in the future.
