Acute pathologies, thoracic coagulation, Chinese lithograph

Lithograph from Huitu shajing hebi (Illustrated Compendium of Acute Pathologies), published in 1911 (3rd year of the Xuantong reign period of the Qing dynasty). This is a specialised text dealing with shabing - a category of sudden, acute diseases. It contains descriptions of 44 conditions, each accompanied by an illustration. The condition depicted here is jiexiong sha (acute thoracic coagulation). The symptoms of this are sensations of tightness and fullness in the heart and chest, and a painful, distended belly, which the patient cannot bear to have touched. The illustration shows a middle-aged woman whose belly is enlarged as though she were pregnant. The acupoints used in treating this condition are marked on her naked upper body. It is to be noted that until the late Qing dynasty, i.e. the beginning of the 20th century, women were depicted fully clothed. This engraving of a woman naked to the waist shows the influence of Western medical illustration.

Picture title: Jiexiong sha (acute thoracic coagulation). Other lettering: Needle the danzhong (Chest Centre) point once. Needle the centre of the lips. Needle both armpits once each. Needle the tianting (Celestial Courtyard) point at the middle of the hairline once. Needle once one thumb-joint above the navel.