For an overview of how internal organs are thought of in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), I highly recommend my first post in this series “The Internal Organs in Chinese Medicine.”
In TCM, the Spleen’s main responsibility is to work with the Stomach to digest food to produce Qi. In particular, the Spleen transports and transforms food into Qi, absorbing the nourishing parts from the food and directing the unusable parts to the bowels for excretion. The Spleen is also responsible for ascending Qi upward, controlling blood and controlling muscles.
The Spleen’s role in extracting Qi from food makes it the most important organ system for the creation of new Qi and Blood. If the Spleen is functioning well, appetite, digestion and bowel movements will all be normal, but if Spleen Qi is depleted, you will likely experience loose stools, low energy, low appetite, and bloating.
Spleen Qi flows upward in order to combine the gathered Food Qi with Clear Qi that is breathed in by the Lungs. This upward direction is essential for this activity, but also manifests in the lifting of all of the internal organs. Therefore in the case of prolapse of an organ, Spleen Qi deficiency is very often a root cause.
Finally the Spleen is said to control Blood, but it may be more accurate to say the Spleen controls the formation of blood. After the Spleen extricates usable Qi from food, it is responsible for combining that Qi with pre-natal Qi (or Original Qi) from the Kidneys to create Blood.
The Spleen will be affected most by overthinking, brooding and obsessive thoughts.
The next post will cover “The Functions of the Kidney in Chinese Medicine”
To start this series from the beginning, go to “The Internal Organs in Chinese Medicine”
Like what you’re reading and want to learn more about how these concepts may be useful in your health care? If you are in the Austin area, contact me for a free consultation here.
