Syndrome of dryness attacking the lung refers to the syndrome of consumption of fluid in the lung system due to invasion of pathogenic dryness into the lung. This syndrome is divided into febrile dryness syndrome and cool dryness syndrome according to its heat or cold nature. This syndrome is caused by dryness in autumn consuming pulmonary fluid and disturbing weiqi; or by dryness transforming from pathogenic wind and febrile factors consuming body fluid. Dryness in early autumn is febrile and the disease caused is febrile dryness; while dryness in late autumn is cold and the disease caused is cool dryness.

Clinical manifestations:
Dry cough with scanty sputum, or sticky sputum difficult to expectorate, even chest pain, sputum mingled with blood, or epistaxis,?hematemesis, dryness of mouth, lips, nose and throat, dry feces with scanty urine, thin and dry tongue with scanty saliva, or accompanied by fever, slight aversion to wind cold, no sweating or scanty sweating, floating and fast pulse or floating and tense pulse. These manifestations are usually seen at the primary stage of various infectious diseases, such as upper respiratory tract infection, pneumonia, bronchitis and pharyngitis.

Analysis of symptoms:
Dry cough without sputum or with scanty and sticky sputum difficult to expectorate is due to pathogenic dryness invading the lung, consuming pulmonary fluid and depriving the lung of moisture and depuration; chest pain, sputum mingled with blood, or epistaxis and hematemesis are due to impairment of the pulmonary collaterals due to dryness; dryness of mouth, lips, nose, throat and feces as well as scanty urine and thin tongue fur with scanty saliva are due to pathogenic dryness consuming body fluid; fever and slight aversion to wind cold are due to disorder of weiqi resulting from pathogenic dryness invading the superficies; no sweating and floating and tense pulse are due to mixture of pathogenic dryness with cold which blocks the muscular interstices; scanty sweating and floating and fast pulse are due to mixture of dryness with heat which opens the muscular interstices.

Key points for syndrome differentiation:
Dry cough, scanty and sticky sputum difficult to expectorate, dryness of mouth, lips, nose and throat with scanty saliva.