Syndrome Differentiation should be made according to the consumption of qi and blood, of yin and yang in the viscera. Generally, if there is deficiency of qi and blood in the heart and spleen, it is a mild case; if there is deficiency of liver yin and kidney yin or deficiency of spleen yang and kidney yang, it is a severe case; and if there is deficiency of yin, yang, qi and blood, and the spleen, kidneys, heart and liver are diseased, it is a more severe case.

If the case with deficiency of healthy qi is attacked by exogenous pathogenic factors, considerable attention should be paid to the differentiation between the principal deficiency and secondary excess, major and minor, insidious and acute. As far as the treatment is concerned, it should primarily aim at nourishing blood, replenishing qi and strengthening the spleen and kidneys. When nourishing blood is applied, replenishing qi to promote blood production should also be considered; and more important, strengthening the spleen and kidneys, which are the source of blood, should be applied at the same time.

Nevertheless, the principles should vary with whether spleen deficiency or kidney deficiency is prominent. If the case is accompanied by deficiency of the heart and liver, both the heart and the liver should be nourished at the same time. If there is concurrence of principal deficiency and secondary excess, attention should be paid to the predominance and urgency of both aspects. For the prolonged case of deficiency of blood with stagnation, it should be treated by replenishing qi and nourishing blood, with activating blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis as the supplementary treatment. In so doing, blood stasis is removed and new blood is produced, therefore, qi and blood is abundant.