Traditional Chinese medicine places much emphasis on the importance of the wholeness of the human body. This "organic whole" reference is taken here to mean a totality of a thing. Because the body acts an organic whole, it shows that there exists inseparable relationships between the zang-and-fu-viscera in both physiology and pathology. In addition, while guided by holistic concepts, it emphasizes the relationship between the internal organs and the external environment, including the social environment and the natural environment. This concept stresses the relationship of the four seasons, the five zang-viscera and yin and yang. The weather changes of the natural world, for example, spring-warm, summer-heat, autumn-cool, and winter-cold, exert a great influence on the physiological activities of the viscera of the human body.
plants of traditional Chinese medicine
The five functional activity systems are formed from the zang-viscera acting as the center organs. In Chinese medicine, much more emphasis is placed upon the role of the zang-viscera in the life activities of the human body. Many kinds of important physiological functions are therefore attributed to these viscera. With the five zang-viscera as the center, the six fu-viscera, five sense organs, and the tissues and organs are all intercon-nected by the meridian system which form the five functional activities system. This functional activities system is composed of the heart system, the lung system, the spleen system, the liver system, and the kidney system. The viscera in the five systems can be divided into yin and yang aspects, each forming a pair of exterior-interior relationships.. The five zang-viscera are also inter-connected with all tissues and openings, thus forming an integrated whole. In addition, there are close connections within the five functional activity systems, which manifest into the interpromoting and inter-restraining actions of the viscera and tissues. This is the practical application of inter-generation and interre straint of the five elements in the visceral manifestation theory. Additionally, the visceral manifestation theory expounds upon the physiological functions and pathological changes of the five zang-viscera and six fu-viscera and extraordinary organs, providing more details about the five zang-viscera than about the six fu-viscera
