Syndrome of cold and dampness encumbering the spleen refers to the syndrome due to internal exuberance of cold and dampness and stagnancy of gastrosplenic yang. This syndrome is usually caused by improper diet, excessive intake of cold and uncooked food, walking in rain or in water, and prolonged living in damp area and frequent internal exuberance of dampness.

Clinical manifestations:
Abdominal fullness and oppression, poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and loose stool, bland taste in the mouth and no thirst, heavy sensation of the head and body, or dropsy of the limbs, scanty urine, or yellow and dull coloration of the body and eyes, or leukorrhagia, bulgy tongue, whitish greasy or whitish slippery fur, slow and weak or sunken and thin pulse. Such symptoms are usually seen in acute gastritis, chronic gastritis, digestive ulceration, chronic enteritis, disturbance of gastrointestinal functions, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of liver, stomach cancer and liver cancer, etc.

Analysis of the symptoms:
Abdominal fullness and oppression, poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and loose stool are caused by exuberance of internal cold and dampness which leads to encumbrance of gastrosplenic yang, dysfunction of the spleen and stomach as well as disturbance of descent and ascent; bland taste in the mouth and no thirst are due to internal exuberance of cold and dampness and non-consumption of body fluid, heavy sensation of the head and body, or dropsy of the limbs and scanty urine are due to stagnation of qi and lucid yang by dampness which spreads in the skin and muscles; yellow and dull coloration of the body and eyes is due to extravasation of the bile caused by encumbrance of dampness and cold which affects the functions of the liver; leukorrhagia is caused by downward migration of cold and dampness which impairs the belt vessel; bulgy tongue, whitish greasy or whitish slippery fur, slow and weak or sunken and thin pulse are the signs of internal exuberance of cold and dampness.

Key points for syndrome differentiation:
Symptoms due to dysfunction of the stomach and spleen, such as abdominal fullness and oppression, poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and loose stool; symptoms of internal exuberant cold and dampness, such as heavy sensation of the head and body, or dropsy of the limbs, yellow and dull coloration of the body and eyes, etc.