Departnt of Rare and Complex Diseases.
Lu Jiu had only one patient left.
But this patient was very special.
She had cancer, but it was not cancer of the internal organs.
It was eye cancer, also known as retinal pigntosa.
In modern dicine, this disease is also incurable.
It’s not even possible to alleviate the symptoms.
Many people diagnosed with this condition are told by doctors that they might go blind any day—maybe in two years, maybe five—it’s purely down to luck.
The patient before him was one such person, which is why she ca to Lu Jiu TCM Hospital, hoping to try her luck before she lost her sight completely.
At this mont, Lu Jiu held a test report that the patient had given him, with several other scans on the table.
"Decreased vision in both eyes, night blindness, narrowed visual field, vision test: right eye 0.4, left eye 0.3. Right eye visual field: upper 40°, lower 55°, nasal side 45°, temporal side 60°; left eye visual field: upper 45°, lower 60°, nasal side 40°, temporal side 55°."
"Dilated fundus examination shows: the edges of the optic discs in both eyes are still clear, grayish-blue in color, retinal arteries and veins are thinned, bone cell-like pignt deposition appears near the equatorial vessels of the retina, pigntation disorder in the macula, weakened central foveal reflex."
"Diagnosis: Primary Retinitis Pigntosa (bilateral)."
Lu Jiu actually didn’t need to look at the test report, but he was quite curious about the organic changes in this disease as indicated by the data.
After reading it, he learned a few things.
In traditional Chinese dicine, retinitis pigntosa is known as advanced night blindness, or Yin Wind Obstruction.
People with this disease, in addition to typical night blindness, uniquely suffer from narrowed fields of vision.
When we look straight ahead, normally we still see blurred images on either side due to lack of focus, but at least we see sothing.
However, patients with this condition see things differently; their field of vision seems blocked as if by two black screens, and when looking forward, both sides are shrouded in darkness with no image at all.
The extent of the block depends on the severity of the patient’s condition.
For instance, the current patient, while speaking with Lu Jiu, has blind spots thirty degrees to either side when facing him.
As the disease progresses, these blind spots widen, her limited perspective becos smaller, until she is completely blind.
This disease is truly terrifying because when you feel your vision narrowing over ti, you live in constant fear of impending blindness, and this fear consus you, making you anxious all the ti.
Once trapped in such fear, there’s no chance of recovery.
Why?
Though the liver governs the eyes, their brightness is actually led by the Kidney Essence and mind, so nourishing the Life Essence and calming the mind is fundantal in treating eye diseases.
The liver indeed governs the eyes, but clarity and depth of vision are led by Kidney Essence and the mind.
Fear damages the kidneys, impairing Kidney Essence, disrupting the internal circulation of the Five Viscera, leading to a deficiency of Qi and blood, depriving the mind of adequate nourishnt, and inducing insomnia due to fear, which worsens the depletion of the mind. How, then, can eye disease possibly improve?
Certainly, we can’t bla the patient entirely.
Against the widely held view that this is a terminal illness, once an information barrier forms, patients naturally panic. Even if soone tells them Chinese dicine can help, preconceptions persist, and panic remains unavoidable.
Fortunately, Chinese dicine still has a major advantage.
When no one else can treat it, one turns to Chinese dicine to try their luck.
No harm if it can’t be cured, but a huge gain if it can be.
"Do you often feel dizzy?" Lu Jiu put down the report.
Mao Ronghua nodded, "Yes, very dizzy, sotis when I just wake up and get up, everything spins, and lying down all day doesn’t help."
Lu Jiu asked, "How about your waist, does it hurt?"
Mao Ronghua replied, "It hurts, even though I haven’t done any physical activity, I don’t know why."
Lu Jiu continued, "Your flanks should hurt too, right? I an, both sides of your ribs."
Mao Ronghua responded, "Yes, yes, they hurt too."
Lu Jiu examined Mao Ronghua’s complexion carefully, "How long have you had insomnia?"
Mao Ronghua’s pupils widened slightly, "Three or four years now, I’ve never slept well."
Lu Jiu nodded, "And your appetite, how is it?"
Mao Ronghua frowned, "I can’t eat much, easily feeling bloated and uncomfortable."
Liver, heart, kidneys, spleen, they all seem unwell.
In "Silver Sea Subtlety: No Dusk", it describes eye disorders: "Although eyes belong to the orifice, they are governed by the kidneys. If the kidneys are deficient, the eyes grow dim."
Besides the kidneys, the spleen is definitely also involved.
The kidneys are the root of innate strength, while the spleen is the foundation of acquired strength. The Innate Essence relies on the nourishing essence of grain and water; spleen deficiency leads to spleen and stomach dysfunction and lack of Qi and blood generation, causing the Life Essence of the Five Viscera to lose its function and fail to restore the eyes to clarity.
There are also eye diseases resulting from Yin deficiency, such as liver-kidney Yin deficiency or true Yin insufficiency, which fail to support Yang Qi, causing insufficient blood flow, blood stasis, and ultimately nourishing the eyes.
As expressed in "Inspection Jade Letter: Eyes as the Most Precious", "True Essence, ford by the coordinated vitality of the early and late stages, begins in the kidneys and nourishes the gallbladder, then extends to interpret the eyes and pupils; any damage to these essentials results in eye disease."
The eye’s True Essence and True Blood depend on the supply of essence and Qi from the Five Viscera and Six Bowels. This process requires both the innate and acquired essences as a material foundation and the promotion and ascension of Yang Qi—neither can be missing.
Simultaneously, long-term deficiency naturally becos interwoven with real afflictions.
Lu Jiu reviewed Mao Ronghua’s eye scans and reports, including ocular blood flow graphs, microcirculation, tongue appearance, sublingual veins, platelet activity, and endothelial injury indicators, all indicating reduced ocular blood circulation, slow flow velocity, microvascular abnormality in the conjunctiva and nails, increased whole blood viscosity and aggregation, platelet hyperfunction, and endothelial injury, all of which point to real physical affliction.
Clearly, Mao Ronghua is a typical case of deficiency accompanied by stagnation, characterized by both deficiency and reality.
Therefore, Lu Jiu must first identify the underlying pathogenesis before providing symptom-targeted treatnt to Mao Ronghua.
But for cases of deficiency combined with reality, diagnosis cannot rely solely on general conditions but must be combined with localized assessnt.
Only in this way can he accurately target the pathogenesis and achieve the best treatnt results.
"Co, give your hand, let feel your pulse," Lu Jiu said.
Mao Ronghua nodded and imdiately extended her hand to Lu Jiu, only realizing she had to extend the other hand too when Lu Jiu prompted her, noting that pulse diagnosis in Chinese dicine isn’t like the single-hand pulse seen in TV dramas.
anwhile, Mo Linxun and others had also arrived at the Departnt of Rare and Complex Diseases.
They originally intended to have Lu Feng inquire if Lu Jiu was off duty, but they coincidentally saw him taking the pulse of a patient, and since there seed to be just one patient left in the consultation room, the large group quietly waited at the door.
Others uninterested in the dical proceedings sat on the benches in the corridor, while Mo Linxun and his group kept their eyes on Lu Jiu. They didn’t want to intrude, understanding he was still in consultation and barging in might be disrespectful.
They didn’t understand much about Chinese dicine but at this mont were keen to know what disease Lu Jiu was treating.
As the head of a hospital and a student of the National Master of Chinese dicine, if he were only elevated through connections, it would be sorely disappointing.
This disappointnt would extend not just to Lu Jiu but also to Huang Fusheng.
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