The Sasang Constitutional Thought of Pulse Diagnosis

맥진(脈診)의 사상의학적(四象醫學的) 고찰(考察)

The pulse diagnosis is the basic method of oriental medicine diagnosis. But in sasang constitutional medicine, it is said that it's not a major diagnotic method. But we don't have any sasang constitutional study of the pulse diagnosis. So I made this study by research of changing concept of the pulse diagnosis in chinese medical history and Dongyi Suse Bowon (longevity and life preservation in oriental medicine). The conclusion as follows. 1. There were many kinds of the pulse diagnosis in the ancient times, it has developed to simple and effective diagnotic method. Simple and effective is the major point of medical development, the 24 pulse is abridged to Floating Pulse(浮), Deep Pulse(沈), Slow Pulse(遲), Rapid Pulse(數) 2. The latter term of Chosun, the practical study was developed. In the view of the practical study, the pulse diagnosis has a lot of cricical point. Jung Yak-Yong, in his writing Mak Lon(脈論), criticize the pulse diagnosis. 3. In the sasang constitutional medicine, the constitutional diagnosis is very important. The methods of the constitutional diagnosis are three, the way of mind and greed, knowledge and deed, external figure and physical traits. But the pulse diagnosis is one of the way of external figure and physical traits, so we can't diagnose the exact constitution by the pulse diagnosis. 4. Dong-mu conclude that the pulse diagnosis is just the diagnostic way of symptom. But in the clinical situation, the ordinary symptoms are more important than the pulse diagnosis, because it is useful to know the condition of the ingestive food metabolism and the Qi-yack metabolism