Traditional Chinese medicine is a medical theoretical system based on China's simple materialism and dialectics-the theory of qi, yin and yang and five elements, with the holistic view as the leading thought, the physiology and pathology of viscera and meridians as the basis, and the treatment based on syndrome differentiation. Based on the theory and practical experience of traditional Chinese medicine, it is a comprehensive subject that studies the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of human physiology, pathology and diseases, as well as rehabilitation and health care. The ideological system of traditional Chinese medicine is Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, with the thought of "neutralization" and balance of Confucianism and Taoism as the main line of thinking method; Its methodology has multidimensional characteristics, paying attention to the whole and emphasizing balance; Its way of thinking is multi-level and diversified, with comparison, deduction, analogy, expression of knowledge, temptation and disproof as specific ways of thinking. The medical view and methodology of traditional Chinese medicine is a scientific thinking view under the guidance of holistic view, with "neutralization" thinking as the core, dialectical thinking as the leading factor and the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements as the theoretical basis. The rich connotation of China traditional culture contained in the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine is the fusion of thousands of years of cultural accumulation, which is of great scientific significance not only to modern medicine, but also to future life science and future medicine.
Ancient philosophy believed that nature was an organic whole composed of certain elements, and analyzed the integrity and dialectical hierarchical relationship of objective things. Traditional Chinese medicine takes materialism and dialectics in ancient China as its world outlook and methodology, and constructs its own theoretical system. Therefore, the observation, analysis, understanding and treatment of life, health and diseases are all based on the whole, paying attention to the integrity of the human body itself and the unity and connection between man and the natural social environment.
Syndrome differentiation and treatment is the basic principle adopted by Chinese medicine in the thinking and practice of recognizing and diagnosing diseases. It is a special research and treatment method of diseases under the guidance of holistic view, which embodies the holistic view, constant view and dialectical view of traditional Chinese medicine and is also one of the basic characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine.
Syndrome is a summary of the essence of pathogenesis when a disease develops to a certain stage. It not only refers to a group of symptoms in a certain stage of the disease process, but also reflects the etiology, location, nature, rise and fall of pathogenic factors, pathological trend and outcome of the disease, so the syndrome reveals the essence and pathological characteristics of the disease more accurately, so that the treatment can be aimed at the etiology. To provide reliable basis for clinical legislation and prescription. The so-called syndrome differentiation is to analyze and synthesize the clinical data (including symptoms and signs) collected by four diagnostic methods (looking, smelling, asking and pulse) by using the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, identify the cause, nature, location and development trend of the disease, and summarize and judge it as a certain type of syndrome. That is to understand the essence of the disease through its external manifestations, analyze and seek the key or crux of the disease. The process of syndrome differentiation is the process of syndrome differentiation and treatment, the process of understanding and treating diseases, the embodiment of combining theory with practice, and the concrete application of the theoretical system of principle, method, prescription and medicine in clinic, so it is the basic principle to guide the clinical diagnosis and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine.
Treatment based on syndrome differentiation is closely related to treatment based on syndrome differentiation, and syndrome differentiation is more important than disease differentiation, because syndrome reflects the nature and attributes of diseases and is the basis of understanding diseases. If the treatment of diseases lacks accurate identification of the stages and types of diseases, then it is impossible to carry out targeted and effective treatment. Of course, it is difficult to define and judge the pathological nature of a disease at a certain stage if we only understand the disease according to the difference of syndromes, without considering the whole process or whole picture of the disease. Because "disease" is the synthesis of "syndrome" and the whole process of clinical reaction, "disease" has a restrictive effect on "syndrome", and the content and transformation law of "syndrome" are based on "disease". Just like kidney-yang deficiency, the main symptom of kidney-yang deficiency diarrhea is five-watch diarrhea, which is safe without edema after diarrhea; The main symptom of edema and kidney-yang deficiency syndrome is facial edema, especially below the waist. If it is depression, diarrhea may not appear. It can be seen that the main symptoms of syndromes vary according to the diseases to which they belong, and the treatment varies according to the diseases. While warming and tonifying kidney yang, the former is supplemented by astringent bowel to stop diarrhea; The latter can also turn gas into water. This combination of disease differentiation and treatment is conducive to improving the clinical diagnosis and treatment level of traditional Chinese medicine.