Foundation
Structured knowledge card
tongue
Definition
A pale tongue body reflects insufficient nourishment or insufficient movement/warming.
Clinical Meaning
It may indicate qi deficiency, blood deficiency, or yang deficiency. A pale swollen tongue leans more toward yang or spleen deficiency, while a pale thin tongue may lean more toward blood deficiency.
Pitfall / Exam Tip
A pale tongue first points toward deficiency. Then you still need to decide whether the deficiency is mainly qi, blood, or yang.
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