Syndrome of liver qi stagnation refers to the syndrome due to failure of the liver to disperse and stagnation of qi. This syndrome is usually caused by emotional upsets, impairment of the liver due to depression and rage; or by failure of liver qi to act freely and to disperse normally due to retention of pathogenic factors in the liver vessels.

Clinical manifestations:
Emotional depression, migratory pain in the chest, hypochondria or lower abdomen, chest oppression, frequent sigh, thin and white tongue fur as well as taut pulse; or sensation of foreign body in the throat, or goiter and scrofula, or, lump in the hypochondria; distending pain of breast, dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation and even amenorrhea in woman. Such symptoms are usually seen in neurasthenia, depression, throat-esophagus neurosis, hyperthyroidism, simple thyroid enlargement, chronic hepatitis and climacteric syndrome, etc.

Analysis of the symptoms:
Depression and frequent sigh are due to stagnation of liver qi and dysfunction of liver dispersion; migratory distending pain in the chest, hypochondria, breast and lower abdomen is caused by liver depression, qi stagnation and inhibited flow of meridian qi; sensation of foreign body in the throat, or goiter, scrofula and hypochondriac lump are caused by retention of phlegm transformed from qi stagnation in the throat, neck and hypochondria; irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, or even amenorrhea are caused by liver depression, qi stagnation and inhibited circulation of blood because the liver is fundamental in woman; thin and whitish tongue fur and taut pulse are the signs of the liver that fails to act freely and disperse normally.

Key points for syndrome differentiation:
Emotional depression, migratory distending pain in the chest, hypochondria, breast and lower abdomen as well as irregular menstruation.