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Chinese tongue diagnosis diagram. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Public Domain Mark
You can use this work for any purpose without restriction under copyright law. Read more about this licence.
Credit
Chinese tongue diagnosis diagram. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.
In 'Black tip' tongue image, the body of the tongue is pale red, but the tip is blue-black. This tongue image indicates deficiency of water and excess of fire, leading to heat in the kidney. It should be treated with Decoction of Bamboo Leaf and Gypsum. In 'Inner border' tongue image, the body of the tongue is pale red, and it has a red film in the centre with a black rim around it. This tongue image indicates cold damage, with residual poisons transmitted to the pericardium (xinbao, lit. heart envelope). It should be treated with Qi Supporting Decoction (cheng qi tang).