Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi (叶天士)
[The patient] had hemilateral withering on the left side of the body. [There was] blood deficiency not nourishing the sinews and bones, [leading to] internal wind assaulting the collaterals. The left pulse was moderate and large.
Zhi Shou Wu (Polygoni Multiflori Radix Preparata) (baked) 4 liang
Gou Qi Zi (Lycii Fructus) (stems removed) 2 liang
Dang Gui Shen (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) (use that with a single stalk, remove the tips) 2 liang
Huai Niu…

Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi (叶天士)
[Patient] Zhu (32) [suffered from] depression, weeping, and grief that caused an internal stirring of Liver yang.  The yang qi transformed into fire wind. The [disease] had form and had sound, which [could be heard] passing through the diaphragm and gushing to the throat. There was a feeling of cold, but this was not true cold. The Inner Classic says that an excess of any of the five emotions leads to fire. [This condition]…

Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi (叶天士)
[Patient] Wu, age 41, [after] undergoing excessive agitation, had Liver and Gallbladder ascendant yang. The Stomach qi was getting worse and worse. The pulse should be pulsing on the left. The treatment was through [addressing] the constrained heat.
mu dan pi (Moutan Cortex)
hei shan zhi zi (black gardenia)
bo he geng (Menthae haplocalycis Stem)
gou teng (Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis)
chen pi (Citri reticulatae Pericarpium)
bai shao (Paeoniae Radix alba)
fu ling (Poria)…

Qì and Blood Depletion – Liver and Kidney insufficiency mistaken for wind-cold-damp painful obstruction.
Misuse of the Fire Spirit Current.
[Patient] Xu was a 59 year old woman who is chronically exposed to water- damp while working. After many years she developed joint-bone limp aching pain that sometimes was mild and sometimes was serious. After retirement it progressively worsened year after year. She sought out many treatments from the hospital, but with no results. Someone recommended her an empirical formula…

Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi (叶天士)
[Patient] Wu [suffered from] a warm disease for 70 days. The right pulse was long and left was deep. The tongue was limp with [a desire] to drink cold beverages. There was heart irritability-heat. The spirit qi was sometimes clear yet sometimes deranged. On the third day of menstrual bleeding the disease started. Hot qi settled internally in the blood, overwhelming the emptiness leading to inward fall. This disease should be considered stasis heat…

Case by: Jiang Chun-Hua (姜春华)
[Patient] Hu, a 46 year old female, had [suffered from] cough and wheezing for seven years. She recently contracted a wind-cold invasion which manifested as a blockage and stifling sensation in the chest, hindered breathing, cough and wheezing with profuse phlegm, and water sounds in the throat. The tongue coat was white and the pulse was floating.  Two packets of a modified ma huang tang (Ephedra Decotion) prescription was given:
ma huang (Ephedrae Herba) 6g…

Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi (叶天士)
[Patient] Dai [habitually] held in his/her feelings with no desire to speak up. This was a Heart disease and herb medicine is difficult to treat such an illness disease. This is damage caused by constraint of the seven emotions. [Zhu] Dan Xi’s yue ju wan (Escape Restraint Pill) method was used.
xiang fu (Cyperi Rhizoma)
chuan xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma)
huang lian (Coptidis Rhizoma)
fu ling (Poria)
zhi ban xia (Pinelliae Rhizoma preparatum)
ju hong…

Original Case by: Yue Mei-Zhong (1900-1982) 岳美中
Spleen and Stomach Yang Deficiency
(Chronic Hepatitis)
(Thanks Greg for this instructive case!)
Bai, male, 39. January 24, 1964, initial consultation, in-patient department. Patient had suffered from chronic hepatitis for six years with intermittent bilateral flank pain, abdominal distention and bloating, anorexia, frequent belching, borborygmus, flatulence, and loose stools one to two times per day or once every-other day. Previously, he had been admitted to the hospital five successive times and undergone hepato-protective…

Liver accosts the Stomach with qi counterflow and blood constraint.
Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi (叶天士)
[Patient] Wang (63) was overworked and had anger, which damaged the yang. There was qi counterflow and blood constraint leading to pain. There was focal distention and sloppy stools. This was wind and wood rebelling against earth. Previous formulas were ineffective.  A formula that unblocks and boosts the yang ming and jue yin was given.
Prescription: dà bàn xià tang (Major Pinellia Decoction) plus…

Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi (叶天士)
[Patient] Lu (24) [had suffered] damage from constraint. The sinews were distended and there was heart (epigastric) pain.
gōu téng (Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis)
xiāng fù (Cyperi Rhizoma)
yù jīn (Curcuma tuber)
cì jí lí (Tribuli Fructus)
mǔ dān pí (Moutan Cortex)
bò hé (Menthae haplocalycis Herba)
chén pí (Citri reticulatae Pericarpium)
fú líng (Poria)
Translated by: Jason Blalack
Original Chinese: 陆（二四） 郁伤。筋胀心痛。钩藤 生香附 郁金 白蒺藜 丹皮 薄荷 广皮 茯苓
Source: From the Constraint…