Episode 52: The Importance of the Primary Symptom (主癥 zhǔ zhèng)

Dialogues on Applied Channel Theory

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In this episode, Yefim Gamgoneishvili and Jason Robertson discuss the centrality of placing a 'primary symptom' (主 症 zhǔ zhèng) at the heart of the diagnostic process. Dr. Wang Juyi would often emphasize that the careful choice of a primary symptom was the crucial first step in the process of perceiving symptom-pattern-structure (症候结构 zhèng hòu jié gòu). While many students and practitioners learn this concept early in their training, we all can make the common clinical error of diffusing the effects of acupuncture by needling single points for single symptoms.