Integrative Approach and Classical Chinese Medicine: San Jiao Energetics

According to the Nan Jing, the San Jiao is said to be the root of life. The primary meridians begin there. (Yuen, 2002). The following has been passed on by Yuen (2002; 2003), and correlated with the text herein by this author.

The San Jiao, also known as the Triple Burner, is a system that has function, but “no shape.” It is basically the “functional relationship between various organs that regulate water” (Kaptchuk, 1983, p. 62). These organs are the Lungs, the Spleen (the digestive system), the Kidneys, and may also include the Urinary Bladder, and the Small Intestines.

It is through the San Jiao that the post-natal essence is delivered to the organs. Basically, the San Jiao mechanism works to disseminate the post-natal essence through the Back Shu points (points along the spine which correlate with each of the internal organs), to bring nourishment to those organs. And, through its physiology, pathology may be disseminated through the identical pathway.

Understanding physiological and pathophysiological processes related to the San Jiao mechanism and how this relates to the organs and their systems is important when treating any chronic illness. The San Jiao system is, in this author’s understanding of Jeffrey Yuen’s teaching of the concept, another aspect within Chinese medical conceptualization of the interconnectedness between the gastrointestinal system and the lymphatic system and the interconnectedness between the two in the assimilation of nutrients and the detoxification of substances.

The Ming Men Fire of the right Kidney goes into the left Kidney turning the Yin into essence and disseminating by transforming it into an etheric substance along the Shu points of the back (they correlate with the spinous processes). These are points which allow access into each organ via the following pathway: From these points they travel to what is known as the Yuan Source points, located distally from the body. From there, the essence is disseminated to the organs. This process is referred to as the San Jiao Energetics and is how post-natal Jing is disseminated in the body.

(Diagram: Jeffrey Yuen) MISSING-I could not copy this over, I am sorry.

Integrative Approach and Classical Chinese Medicine: Issues of the Small Intestine

The small intestine is the pivotal organ of pathology within this author’s theory and experience of this disease from vantage points of both Chinese and Western medicines.

In Chinese medicine, the organs are correlated with their associated Primary and Divergent meridians, allowing transfer of pathology from organs to meridians and vice versa and from organ to organ. A common example of the transfer of pathology from organ to organ is the connection between the Small Intestine and the Urinary Bladder and the connection between those two and the Heart.

TCM has as one of its primary Zang-Fu syndromes the pattern of Heart Fire transferring to the Small Intestine (Bensky & Barolet, p.95), with symptoms of hot, painful, and even burning urination and a sense of fullness in the lower abdomen. This pattern may also manifest with cold sores in the mouth or on the tongue, a condition that often arises with the chronic bladder symptoms of IC, in both the syndrome phase (the sickness) as well as the mid-recovery phase (i.e., the pathology being processed through the small intestine as an integral part of treatment). The TCM relationship between the Heart, the Small Intestine, and the Urinary Bladder is an important factor in the understanding of this condition. The job of the Small Intestine is to ”separate the pure from the turbid, ” which means that after accepting the partially digested matter from the Stomach, the Small Intestine continues to absorb and digest the matter. Chinese medicine says the Small Intestine sends the “clear” fluids to the Spleen (the digestive system) and the: turbid” fluids to the Large Intestine, Kidneys, and Urinary bladder. In Western medical terms, this process is the process of nutrient and fluid absorption and detoxification through the liver, lymph, and blood.

Frequently in IC, patients complain of bi-lateral or unilateral lower right and left quadrant pain. One may conclude that this pain is stemming from the ureters, however, this author theorizes that pain is inflammation within the Peyer’s patches that are located in these two areas of the abdominal cavity within the distal small intestine. This is the area of most significance in the relationship between the digestive and immune systems known as GALT, (gut-associated lymphatic tissue). Whether any analysis is available to confirm or deny this theory in living patients is beyond the scope of this author’s expertise, but she is of the opinion that this finding is plausible and probable.

Within both Chinese and Western medical conceptualization, the Small Intestine may be affected from emotional distress. In Chinese medical conceptualization these affects will in turn have adverse consequences on the Urinary Bladder. Quite interestingly, Li Shi Zhen depicted urinary tract issues as unresolved Small Intestine pathology with which the body struggles by creating Compensatory patterns of Dampness versus Heat. When there is Cold in the Urinary Bladder the Small Intestine will produce more Heat, endeavoring to transform the Cold (Yuen, Su Wen, 2002). This CCM concept strongly correlates with this author’s theories of IC. Numerous researchers connect the affects that stress has on the small intestine with gastrointestinal conditions as well, (Soderholm, 2001; Baugmart 2002; Berg, 1995).

Many practitioners of natural medicine place the primary focus of treatment on “cleansing” the Large Intestine in chronic health conditions, often overlooking the critical role the Small Intestine plays in health and in disease. Although constipation is often found amongst those suffering from IC and very often precedes the condition, in this author’s theory it is not the route through which the pathology travels to the urinary bladder and therefore should not be the primary focus of the treatment.

The Nan Jing also delineates a route of pathology from the Spleen (the digestive system in Western terms) to the Kidneys, to the Heart, and in turn, the Small Intestine, (Yuen, 2004). This is another example of how CCM concepts correlate with this author’s concept of IC.

Understanding the dynamics of physiology and pathology from both Chinese and Western medical analysis may provide a broader understanding of chronic disease and treatment options increasing the chances of the re-institution of homeostasis and health. 

I hope this was interesting.

Dr.M