脉象 (màixiàng): pulse condition (TCM)

Meanings

1 pulse condition (TCM)
2 type of pulse

Characters

脉

Examples

老中医把了把脉，说我脉象虚弱。

Lǎo zhōngyī bǎ le bǎ mài, shuō wǒ màixiàng xūruò.

The old TCM doctor took my pulse and said it was weak.

不同的脉象对应不同的病症。

Bùtóng de màixiàng duìyìng bùtóng de bìngzhèng.

Different pulse patterns correspond to different conditions.

Tips

culture

Reading the pulse (把脉) is one of TCM's four diagnostic methods. The classic taxonomy distinguishes 28 pulse types — floating, sinking, slippery, wiry, and so on — each pointing to a different underlying pattern. Li Shizhen's Ming-era 《濒湖脉学》 is the canonical manual.