Extraordinary Fu in the Classics: From Curiosity to Clarity about the Curious Organs

Course overview

Besides the Five zang and Six fu which form the Twelve viscera in charge of the organism, there is a series of Six functions, called the Six Extraordinary Fu (qi heng zhi fu).They consist of the brain, bone marrow, bones, the vital circulations (mai), the gallbladder and uterus. They resemble the zang organs because they carefully store the essences in different forms but they are called "fu". Nevertheless their are among the most important and vital functions in the body. They work with the essences in a remarkable succession to produce and develop a being, then to maintain its life and finally to ensure its reproduction. Each of these functions will be studied in itself and to reveal its connection to the group of the Six extraordinary fu. A special study will be made of the brain, not only as sea of marrow, but also as the place where the essences of the kidneys and the spiritual brightness join together to allow the best possible relationship between the sense organs and the heart. The brain is also crossed by numerous meridians, ordinary and extraordinary, whose functions are related to those of the brain and which bring to it the best of the clear yang. The presentations are entirely based on classical Chinese texts of medicine, directly translated and explained. The key characters are analyzed and their meaning made clear. The relevance with the clinical application is shown regularly.