Woodcut illustrating the 17th century text Xu Ping waike zhengzong (Orthodox Manual of External Medicine with Commentary by Xu Dachun), from an edition published in 1860 (10th year of the Xianfeng reign period of the Qing dynasty).
Right-hand illustration:
Renmian chuang (human face sores) belong to the category of ulcer and abscess diseases (yongju bing). They are found on the elbows and knees. They owe the name to the fact that once they begin to suppurate, they have several openings which look like a human face. In current medical terms, they might correspond to tuberculous or suppurative arthritis of the knees.
Left-hand illustration:
Shang fa bei (upper back lesions), zhong fa bei (middle back lesions), xia fa bei (lower back lesions) and fuyin ju (genital sores) also belong to the category of ulcer and abscess diseases. Shang fa bei are found on the upper back, below the Celestial Pillar Bone (tianzhu gu - 7th cervical vertebra); zhong fa bei are found at the jinsuo (Sinew Contraction) point, at the centre of the back; and xia fa bei are found at the mingmen (Portal of Life) point, in the small of the back. Fuyin ju (abscesses attached to Yin) are found on the outer, lower aspect of the knee joints. In all four cases, the prognosis is favourable if the lesions suppurate, and unfavourable if they do not.