Kidneys in Oriental and Occidental Medicine

Abstract

Background: Oriental medicine is based on the 5-phase theory, in which the balance among the 5 viscera - the liver, the heart, the spleen, the lung and the kidney - is important. It is confusing that the viscera in Oriental and Occidental medicine have the same name. Out of the 5 viscera in Oriental medicine, it is the spleen that differs most from that in Occidental medicine. It mainly corresponds to the digestive organs and pancreas and has no relation to the spleen in Occidental medicine, a kind of lymph tissue. On the other hand, the concept of each of the other Oriental viscera includes the corresponding viscus in Occidental medicine. Key Messages: The 11 aspects of the kidney in Oriental medicine correspond to three kinds of endocrine and metabolic systems, all of which are associated with aging.