Insights and Updates

In the chapter on formulas for goiter and tumors in volume two of Waike Zhengzong (Orthodox External Medicine), there is an internal pellet formula called Hupo Heilong Dan (Amber Black-Dragon Pellet), used to treat "the five goiters and six tumors, regardless of whether new or…

Sea buckthorn (Shaji) is the dried ripe fruit of Hippophae rhamnoides of the Elaeagnaceae family, classified among the qi-tonifying Chinese herbs. It is not a traditional Han-Chinese medicine but a medicinal and edible herb commonly used in Tibetan and Mongolian medicine. In China it is…

Chinese-medicine luhui is the concentrated dried product of the leaf juice of Aloe vera, Aloe arborescens, and Aloe ferox of the Liliaceae family. Chinese medicine holds that aloe is bitter and cold, entering the liver and large-intestine meridians. It purges downward, clears liver fire, and…

Maozhaocao is the tuberous root or whole herb of Ranunculus ternatus of the Ranunculaceae family, produced mainly in Henan, Zhejiang, and Guangxi; it is named for its root, which resembles a cat's paw. Chinese medicine holds that maozhaocao is acrid and sweet in flavor and…

This period, final exams and proficiency exams came one after another. Before the exams my son felt a bit of pressure and came to me on his own to talk. He said he had progressed quickly in his studies over the year, and his classmates…

Tufuling is the rhizome of Smilax glabra and Smilax china of the Liliaceae family, produced mainly in Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Anhui, and also in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, and Jiangsu. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that tufuling is sweet and bland in flavor and…

Hechan Pian is a commonly used anticancer Chinese patent medicine. It is composed of agrimony (Xianhecao), dried toad skin (Ganchanchu pi), ranunculus tuber (Maozhaocao), fritillaria (Zhebeimu), raw pinellia (Sheng Banxia), and houttuynia (Yuxingcao). It is a sugar-coated tablet that appears brownish-brown after the sugar coating…

Chinese-medicine shihu is the stem of Dendrobium nobile, Dendrobium loddigesii, Dendrobium candidum, Dendrobium chrysanthum, and Dendrobium fimbriatum of the Orchidaceae family. Dendrobium candidum is also called Tiepi Fengdou, and there are now many health products on the market sold under that name. Clinically one may…

Pearl (Zhenzhu), also called Zhenzhu, bangzhu, or zhenzhizi, is produced when the mantle of the pearl oysters Pinctada martensii, Pinctada margaritifera, Pinctada maxima, or Pteria chinensis, or of the freshwater mussels Hyriopsis cumingii or Anodonta, is stimulated; that produced at Hepu in Guangxi is considered…

A gallbladder-cancer patient I treated also suffered from endometriosis and uterine adenomyosis, with perennial vaginal bleeding. She had received both Chinese and Western medical treatment for years with little effect. I also tried various internal formulas on this patient, but none worked well. The patient…