素问·奇病论 Treatise on Unusual Diseases
黄帝问曰：人有重身，九月而喑，此为何也。歧伯对曰：胞之络脉绝也。帝曰：何以言之。歧伯曰：胞络者系于肾，少阴之脉，贯肾系舌本，故不能言。帝曰：治之奈何。歧伯曰：无治也，当十月复。刺法曰：无损不足，益有馀，以成其疹，然后调之。所谓无损不足者，身羸瘦，无用鑱石也；无益其有馀者，腹中有形而泄之，泄之则精出而病独擅中，故曰疹成也。
帝曰：病脇下满气逆，二三岁不已，是为何病。歧伯曰：病名曰息积，此不妨于食，不可灸刺，积为导引服药，药不能独治也。
帝曰：人有身体髀股䯒皆肿，环齐而痛是为何病。歧伯曰：病名曰伏梁，此风根也，其气溢于大肠，而著于肓，肓之原在齐下，故环齐而痛也。不可动之，动之，为水溺涩之病也。
帝曰：人有尺脉数甚，筋急而见，此为何病。歧伯曰：此所谓疹筋，是人腹必急，白色黑色见，则病甚。
帝曰：人有病头痛以数岁不已，此安得之，名为何病。歧伯曰：当有所犯大寒，内至骨髓，髓者以脑为主，脑逆故令头痛，齿亦痛。病名曰厥逆。帝曰：善。
帝曰：有病口甘者，病名为何，何以得之。歧伯曰：此五气之溢也，名曰脾瘅。夫五味入口，藏于胃，脾为之行其精气，津液在脾，故令人口甘也；此肥美之所发也，此人必数食甘美而多肥也，肥者令人内热，甘者令人中满，故其气上溢，转为消渴。治之以兰，除陈气也。
帝曰：有病口苦，取阳陵泉，口苦者病名为何，何以得之。歧伯曰：病名曰胆瘅。夫肝者中之将也，取决于胆，咽为之使。此人者，数谋虑不决，故胆虚气上溢，而口为之苦。治之以胆募俞，治在阴阳十二官相使中。
帝曰：有癃者，一日数十溲，此不足也；身热如炭，颈膺如格，人迎躁盛，喘息气逆，此有馀也，太阴脉微细如发者，此不足也。其病安在，名为何病。歧伯曰：病在太阴，其盛在胃颇在肺，病名曰厥，死不治。此所谓得五有馀二不足也。帝曰：何谓五有馀，二不足。歧伯曰：所谓五有馀者五病之气有馀也；二不足者，亦病气之不足也。今外得五有馀内得二不足，此其身不表不里，亦正死明矣。
帝曰：人生而有病巅疾者，病名曰何，安所得之。歧伯曰：病名为胎病，此得之在母腹中时，其母有所大惊，气上而不下，精气并居，故令子发为巅疾也.
帝曰：有病痝然如有水状，切其脉大紧，身无痛者，形不瘦不能食，食少，名为何病。歧伯曰：病生在肾，名为肾风。肾风而不能食善惊，惊已，心气痿者死。帝曰：善。
Huangdi asked: There is a woman who is pregnant and in the ninth month becomes mute — what is this? Qibo replied: The connecting vessel of the uterus has been cut off. Huangdi said: How can this be explained? Qibo said: The uterine vessel is tied to the kidney; the Shaoyin channel passes through the kidney and connects to the root of the tongue, and therefore the woman cannot speak. Huangdi said: How is this treated? Qibo said: There is no need to treat it — it will recover of itself by the tenth month. The needling classic says: do not deplete what is already insufficient, and do not supplement what is already in excess, for doing so would bring the affliction to completion; only afterward should one regulate it. What is meant by 'do not deplete what is insufficient' is that when the body is emaciated and weak, one should not use the lancet-stone. What is meant by 'do not supplement what is in excess' is that when there is a mass in the abdomen, one should not purge it, for purging it would cause the essence to escape and leave the disease to dominate alone within — this is what is meant by 'the affliction being brought to completion.'
Huangdi said: There is a disease with fullness below the ribs and rebellious qi that does not resolve for two or three years — what disease is this? Qibo said: This disease is called 'accumulation of breath.' It does not interfere with eating, and it should not be treated with moxibustion or needling; for this accumulation, guided exercises should be combined with medicine, for medicine alone cannot cure it.
Huangdi said: There is a case in which the body, thighs, and shins are all swollen, and there is pain encircling the navel — what disease is this? Qibo said: This disease is called 'hidden beam'; it is rooted in wind. Its qi overflows into the large intestine and lodges in the membrane source; since the origin of the membrane source lies below the navel, the pain encircles the navel. This mass must not be disturbed — if disturbed, it will give rise to a disease of water and difficult urination.
Huangdi said: There is a case in which the cubit pulse is exceedingly rapid, and the sinews are tense and visibly prominent — what disease is this? Qibo said: This is what is called 'sinew affliction.' In such a person, the abdomen must also be tense; if white or black coloring appears in the complexion, the disease is severe.
Huangdi said: There is a case of headache that persists unresolved for several years — how is this contracted, and what is this disease called? Qibo said: It must be that the person was once exposed to severe cold, which penetrated inward as far as the bone marrow. The marrow is governed by the brain, and when the brain is thrown into rebellion, it causes headache, and the teeth ache as well. This disease is called 'reversal counterflow.' Huangdi said: Good.
Huangdi said: There is a disease in which the mouth tastes sweet — what is this disease called, and how is it contracted? Qibo said: This is an overflow of the qi of the five flavors; it is called 'spleen heat-block.' The five flavors enter the mouth and are stored in the stomach; the spleen circulates their essential qi, and when fluid accumulates in the spleen, it causes the mouth to taste sweet. This is brought on by rich, fatty foods — such a person must frequently eat sweet and rich foods in excess. Fatty food generates internal heat, and sweet food causes fullness in the middle; therefore the qi overflows upward and turns into wasting-thirst. It is treated with orchid, to eliminate the stagnant qi.
Huangdi said: There is a disease with a bitter taste in the mouth, for which one selects the point Yangling Quan — what is this disease called, and how is it contracted? Qibo said: This disease is called 'gallbladder heat-block.' The liver is the general of the interior, and it depends on the gallbladder for its decisions, while the throat serves as their intermediary. Such a person frequently deliberates but cannot reach a decision; hence the gallbladder becomes deficient, its qi overflows upward, and the mouth becomes bitter as a result. It is treated at the alarm and transport points of the gallbladder; the treatment is discussed in the chapter on the Twelve Officials of Yin and Yang and Their Mutual Employment.
Huangdi said: There is a case of urinary blockage in which the patient urinates several dozen times a day — this is a deficiency. Yet the body is hot as burning charcoal, the neck and chest feel as if blocked, the Renying pulse is agitated and full, and there is panting and rebellious qi — this is an excess. And the Taiyin pulse is faint and fine as a hair — this is a deficiency. Where does this disease lie, and what is it called? Qibo said: The disease lies in the Taiyin; its excess is chiefly in the stomach, and somewhat also in the lung. This disease is called reversal, and it is fatal — it cannot be treated. This is what is meant by 'obtaining five excesses and two deficiencies.' Huangdi said: What is meant by 'five excesses and two deficiencies'? Qibo said: The 'five excesses' means that the qi of the diseases is in excess; the 'two deficiencies' likewise means that the disease qi is deficient. Now, if externally one finds the five excesses and internally the two deficiencies, then the body is neither in a treatable exterior nor interior state, and it is clear that death is certain.
Huangdi said: There are people who are born already suffering from an epileptic disorder — what is this disease called, and how is it contracted? Qibo said: This disease is called 'fetal disease.' It is contracted while the child is still in the mother's womb: the mother suffers a great fright, so that her qi rises and does not descend, and the essence-qi of mother and child become lodged together; this causes the child to develop the epileptic disorder.
Huangdi said: There is a disease in which the face appears swollen and puffy as though there were water beneath the skin; on palpating the pulse it is large and tight; the body has no pain; the form is not emaciated, yet the patient cannot eat, or eats very little — what is this disease called? Qibo said: This disease arises in the kidney and is called 'kidney wind.' When a person with kidney wind cannot eat and is prone to fright, and after the fright the heart qi becomes withered and weak, the patient dies. Huangdi said: Good.