08/10/16 21:55:27
Before a few centuries B.C., in ancient China, it was believed that there were five relatively solid internal organs（五臓）
and six hollow internal organs（六腑）.
However, with the development of concepts of twelve meridians combined with one of the diagnostic methods of pulse diagnosis by introducing additional
organs called “Pericardium”（心包）, they made a system consisted of a total of twelve internal organs.
they were classified into six “yin” organs represented by relatively solid organs, i.e., heart, liver, kidney, lung, spleen, and pericardium.
The other six were “yang” organs, represented by six hollow organs, i.e., small intestine, gall bladder, bladder, large intestine, stomach, and three burners.
However, if we try to interpret these twelve internal organs by present concepts of internal organs, we will have a difficult time.
There are three reasons for the difficulties:
(1)some of the names of the internal organs are different from the names of the internal organs we know in Western medicine.
(2)some of the internal organs in the ancient Orient are imaginary and indicate functions of several systems involving a number of different internal organs.
(3)the ancient Orientals tried to fit all the existing organs' functions into only a limited number of the twelve organs.
Naturally, some of the internal organs in ancient Oriental concepts must cover the functions of more than one or two internal organs.
Furthermore, some of the internal organs, such as the three burners(three warmers), which are divided into three divisions of the body's trunk,
do not correspond to any anatomically known single internal organ.
In the following chart, the twelve names of these internal organs used in Oriental medicine are shown along with the corresponding functions of the organs
in present Western anatomy.
和訳をよろしくお願いします。