Knowledge Base/Fundamentals/Zang and Fu — the "organ" systems
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基础理论

Zang and Fu — the "organ" systems zàng fǔ · 脏腑

The Zang are not the anatomical organs of modern medicine. Each Zang — Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney, plus Pericardium — names a functional system that also carries a mental-emotional aspect, a tissue, a sense organ, a fluid and a season.

The Fu (Gallbladder, Stomach, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Bladder, San Jiao) are described as hollow and associated with receiving, transforming and transmitting. TCM "Kidney", for instance, covers part of what modern medicine assigns to adrenal, endocrine, reproductive and skeletal function. Reading these words as anatomy is the single most common misunderstanding of TCM.

中医的"脏"并不等同于现代医学的解剖器官。每一个脏——心、肝、脾、肺、肾，加心包——命名的是一套功能系统，同时带有情志、组织、官窍、体液与季节的对应。

六腑（胆、胃、小肠、大肠、膀胱、三焦）被描述为"中空"，与受纳、传化、排泄相关。例如中医的"肾"，覆盖了现代医学中肾上腺、内分泌、生殖与骨骼的部分功能。把脏腑当解剖器官来读，是理解中医最常见的误区。

Classical theory · Huangdi Neijing, Nanjing
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