Normally the tongue fur is caused by fumigation of the gastric qi and moistening of gastric fluid .Morbid tongue fur is caused by upward flow of gastric qi with pathogenic factors .Inspection of the tongue fur is helpful for understanding the location and nature of disease as well as the relation between healthy qi and pathogenic factors .Inspection of the tongue fur includes examination of the nature and colour of the tongue fur .
1.1.3.4.1 Nature of the tongue fur
This includes examination of the thickness , moistness , greasiness , putridity , dryness , exfoliation and root of the tongue fur .
Thickness : The standard for examining the thickness of the tongue is whether it is ¡°bottom visible ¡±or ¡°bottom invisible ¡±.That means the tongue fur with dimly visible body of the tongue is thin fur , while the tongue fur with invisible body of the tongue is thick fur .
The thickness of the tongue fur reflects the degree and severity of the pathogenic factors as well as the development of disease .Generally speaking , thin tongue fur is seen at the primary stage of exogenous disease , suggesting that the pathogenic factors are superficial and the disease is mild ; it is also seen in diseases due to internal impairment with deficiency of healthy qi , especially with hypofunction of the spleen and stomach .Thick tongue fur is the sign of exuberance of pathogenic factor , frequently due to internal invasion of exogenous pathogenic factors , or due to internal stagnation of phlegm , dampness and food retention as well as fumigation of gastric qi with turbid substance and pathogenic factors.
During the course of a disease , the change of the tongue fur from thinness to thickness indicates gradual exuberance of pathogenic factors , development of pathogenic factors from the exterior to the interior and progress of pathological conditions from mildness to severity ; the change of the tongue fur from thickness to thinness suggests predomination of healthy qi over pathogenic factors , elimination of pathogenic factors internally and externally as well as development of the pathological conditions from severity to mildness .
Moistening and dryness of tongue fur : The tongue fur that is moist with moderate dampness is called moist tongue fur .The tongue fur with excessive dampness and slipperiness is called slippery tongue fur .The tongue fur that is dry , without fluid or even fissured is called dry tongue fur .The tongue fur that is dry , rough and sandy is called rough tongue fur .
The moistening and dryness of the tongue fur reflect the conditions and distributed of body fluid ,Moist tongue fur indicates sufficiency and upward distributed of body fluid .Slippery tongue fur indicates cold-dampness , or retention of fluid and internal invasion of cold-dampness , or asthenia of yangqi and failure of qi to transform fluid .Dry and rough tongue fur indicates consumption of fluid by exuberant hear or consumption of yin fluid .The drier and rougher the tongue fur , the severer the consumption of body fluid .Such a condition is usually seen at the medium and advanced stages of exogenous febrile diseases .Besides , internal stagnation of pathogenic dampness , obstruction of yangqi or asthenia of yangqi and failure of qi to transform fluid may also lead to dry tongue fur , the manifestation of which is light-whitish tongue accompanied by chest oppression and dry mouth without desire to drink .
During the course of a disease , the change of the tongue fur from moisture to dryness indicates consumption of body fluid and severity of heat ;while the change of tongue fur from dryness to moisture suggests abatement of pathogenic heat and gradual restoration of body fluid .
Greasy and putrid tongue fur :Tongue fur compact and difficult to exfoliate which is thick on the center and thin on the margins is called greasy tongue fur ( see colour Fig .12) .While the tongue fur loose , sparse and easy to exfoliate with thickness on both the center and margins is called putrid tongue fur .
The greasiness and putridity of the tongue fur reflect the decline and development of yangqi and turbid dampness .Greasy tongue fur is usually caused by internal exuberance of dampness and obstruction of yangqi, often syndromes due to dampness , phlegm , retention of food and damp-febrile factors .Putrid tongue fur is usually caused by fumigation of excess of yang-heat
Often seen in syndromes due to retention of food in the stomach and intestines or accumulation of phlegm and turbid substance .
Exfoliating tongue fur : Exfoliating tongue fur means that the fur on the tongue has exfoliated partially or completely during the course of a disease .Partial exfoliation of tongue fur is divided into anterior exfoliated tongue fur , medium exfoliated tongue fur ( see colour Fig .13) .If the tongue fur is completely exfoliated , it is called mirror-like tongue .
Exfoliation of the tongue fur is usually due to failure of deficient gastric qi to fumigate the tongue or due to failure of the exhausted gastric yin to moisten the tongue .Therefore the exfoliation of the tongue fur can tell whether the gastric qi and yin still exist or not and how the prognosis of a disease will be .Exfoliated tongue fur and deep-red tongue indicate consumption of yin by exuberant heat ;exfoliated tongue fur and light-coloured tongue indicate consumption of both qi and yin ; mirror-like tongue suggests severe consumption of gastric qi and is a sign of the exhaustion of gastric yin .If the tongue fur is patched and greasy , it suggests that phlegm is not resolved , healthy qi is consumed and the pathological conditions are complicated .During the course of a disease , if the tongue fur is completely exfoliated , it means insufficiency of gastric qi and yin , gradual decline of healthy qi and gradual worsening of the pathological conditions ;if the tongue fur reappears thin and white after exfoliation , it indicates gradual restoration of gastric qi and favourable recovery from the disease .
The tongue fur with or without root:The tongue fur with root means that the fur is closely attached to the surface of the tongue and is not easy to exfoliate .It is also called real tongue fur .The tongue fur without root means that the tongue fur appears floating or painted on the tongue and is easy to exfoliate .It is also called false tongue fur .
The tongue fur with root is formed by accumulation of gastric qi with turbid pathogenic factors on the tongue : the tongue fur without root is due to failure of gastric qi too exhausted to produce new fur and inability of the original fur to continue on the tongue .Inspecting whether the tongue fur is with or without fur is helpful for understanding whether gastric qi still exists or not and whether pathogenic factors are exuberating or declining .Such an understanding enables one to know whether the disease is serious or not and whether the prognosis is favourable or unfavourable .The tongue fur with root at the primary and medium stages of a disease indicatesd that pathogenic factors are in predomination bue the healthy qi is still vigorous enough to resist pathogenic factors and that the prognosis is favourable .The appearance of tongue fur with root at the advanced stage or in chronic disease suggests that gastric qi is still in predomination or gradually restores , signifying favourable prognosis .If the tongue fur without root appears in such a case , it indicates deficiency of gastric qi , decline of healthy qi , severity of pathological conditions and unfavorable prognosis .
1.1.3.4.2 The colour of tongue fur
The colours of tongue fur commonly seen are white , yellow and grayish black which may appear singularly or simultaneously . The examination of the colours of tongue fur should be done together with the analysis of the texture , colour and shape of the tongue proper .
White tongue fur : Apart from normal tongue fur , white tongue fur is usually seen in external syndrome and cold syndrome .But white tongue fur is not only confined to external syndrome and cold syndromes .
Thin and white tongue fur is often seen at the primary stage of exogenous disease and diseases due to internal impairment without fever .At the primaty stage of exogenous diseases , pathogenic factors attack the superficies but have not invaded the interior , the tongue fur does not have obvious changes .That is why thin and white tongue fur indicates external syndrome .Light-red tongue with thin , white and moist tongue fur indicates wind-cold external syndrome ;tongue with reddish margins and tip as well as thin , white and moistless fur indicates wind-heat external syndrome .Light-white tongue with thin and white fur is usually seen in internal asthenia-cold syndrome .
Whitish greasy tongue fur is usually due to internal retention of damp turbid substance , phlegm and fluid or due to food retention without transforming into heat ( see colour Fig .14 ) .Powder-like thick and white tongue fur that does not feel dry is called powder tongue fur , frequently caused by mixture of exogenous fetid pathogenic factors and heat toxin , usually seen in pestilence and internal abscess .
Yellow tongue fur: Yellow tongue fur usually indicates internal syndrome and heat syndrome .
During the course of a disease , the change of tongue fur from white to yellow suggests that the pathogenic factors have transformed into heat and transmitted to the interior .The yellower the tongue fur , the severer the pathogenic factors .Light-yellow tongue fur indicates mild heat , deep-yellow tongue fur signifies severe heat and sallow tongue fur suggests extreme heat .That is why yellow tongue fur usually appears simultaneously with red and deep-red tongue ( see colour Fig.15) .
Thin and yellow tongue fur indicated mild pathogenic heat , usually seen in wind-heat external syndrome , or inward invasion of heat transformed from wind-cold , or mild heat progress in internal heat syndrome .Yellow and white tongue fur suggests that the pathogenic factors are transmitted from the exterior to the interior and cold transforms into heat in exogenous disease .Yellow and greasy tongue fur is usually due to accumulation of damp-heat , or due to phlegm and fluid retention transforming into heat , or due to food retention and heat putrefaction .Yellow and rough tongue fur is often caused by pathogenic heat consuming body fluid or by retention of heat in the intestines .But if the tongue fur is yellow , slippery and moist and the tongue is light-white and bulgy , it is due to decline of yangqi and failure of dampness and water to transform .
Grayish black tongue fur : Grayish black tongue fur suggests severity of internal heat syndrome or internal cold syndrome .The moisture and dryness of the tongue texture are the evidences to differentiate the nature of cold and heat ( see colour Fig .17 ) .
Grayish tongue fur is light-black tongue fur .So grayish tongue fur and blackish tongue fur are the same .The colour of the tongue fur corresponds to the degree of the pathological conditions .The deeper the tongue fur colour , the severer the pathological conditions .Grayish black tongue fur in cold syndrome usually develops from white tongue fur .For example , grayish black and moist tongue fur with light-white tongue signifies yang asthenia and cold exuberance , or cold dampness and internal retention of phlegm and fluid , Grayish black tongue fur in heat syndrome evolves from sallow tongue fur . For instance , grayish black and dry fur with deep-red tongue or even prickly tongue is due to extreme heat consuming fluid .

• How to contact us
• How to order our products
• How to pay
• What's our service after sale