Normal pulse refers to the pulse conditions of the healthy people.

The shape of the normal pulse:
The normal pulse is neither floating nor sunken, neither fast nor slow, sensible with moderate pressure, usually beating 4 - 5 times in a cycle of breath (about 60-90 beats per minute), gentle in sensation, powerful in rebounding, moderate in size, regular in beating and varying with physical activities and environmental changes.

The characteristics of the normal pulse:
The normal pulse is marked by gastric qi, spirit and root. Gastric qi means that the pulse is located at the middle, neither floating nor sunken. Regular in beating, moderate in size, gentle in sensation and floating. Spirit means that the pulse is soft, powerful and rhythmic. Root means that the chi pulse is powerful and constantly beating under heavy pressure.

Gastric qi, spirit and root are three basic features of the normal pulse which complement each other and cannot be separated. Simultaneous appearance of the three reflects strong functions of the viscera and sufficiency of qi and blood.

Main factors to affect the normal pulse:
The normal pulse may vary with physiological and psychological factors in the human body and the environmental factors outside.

Age, sex and building of the body:
The pulse is usually small and fast in children, smooth and slippery in young people, taut and hard in old people, moderate and powerful in men, soft and thin in women, slippery and fast in gravida, sunken and thin or soft and thin in obese people, floating and large in lean people, long in tall people and short in small people.

Daily life and psychological factors:
The pulse appears slippery, fast and powerful after movement, eating and drinking of wine, weak with hunger, taut in anger and irregular in fright.

Seasonal, alternation of day and night and geographical factors:
The pulse appears slightly taut in spring, slightly full in summer, slightly floating in autumn and slightly sunken in winter; slightly floating and powerful in the daytime and slightly sunken, thin and slow in night; sunken and energetic among the people in the north and soft among the people in the south.

Besides, the changes of the anatomic position of the radial artery may shift the pulse normally at the cunkou region to the dorsum of the hand from the chi region, known as oblique flying pulse. The pulse, shifted to the?back of the cunkou region, is called ectopic radial pulse.