Body colour: Reddish-Purple. 

Body shape: Swollen and cracked. 

Coating: peeled. A Reddish-Purple 

tongue body colour usually indicates Blood stasis deriving from or associated with Heat. The tongue body is also swollen which indicates the presence of phlegm. The lung and Heart areas of the tongue are especially swollen which points towards the fact that the Phlegm is predominantly in the Upper Burner. Phlegm and blood stasis are often seen existing side by side, especially in older patients, as they interact with and "promote" each other. Blood stasis stops fluids from being transported around the body smoothly therefore encouraging the production of Phlegm, while Phlegm blocks the smooth flow of Qi and Blood leading to stasis.

The tongue is totally peeled (without coating) and with many cracks, both signs of chronic Yin deficiency. It is likely that the Yin deficiency preceded the Blood stasis. Chronic Yin deficiency leads to Empty-Heat and we know in this case that the Blood stasis derives from Heat as the tongue is a Reddish-Purple colour. Therefore, in conclusion, we can say that this many suffers from Yin deficiency with Empty-Heat, Blood stasis and Phlegm in the Upper Burner.