Chinese Tongue Diagnosis: Episode 4
Your tongue is more than a tool for taste and speech, it’s a powerful mirror of your internal health. In Episode 4, Dr. Daisy explains the foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) tongue diagnosis, one of the oldest and most insightful diagnostic methods used for over 5,000 years.
This episode breaks down how tongue inspection works, why it’s used at the beginning of every TCM visit, and how different tongue areas reflect specific organs and health conditions.
🧠 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
✅ The origins of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its four diagnostic methods
✅ Why tongue diagnosis is an essential part of TCM inspection
✅ How tongue color, shape, coating, swelling, and fissures reveal internal organ health
✅ The three main sections of the tongue and the organs they represent
✅ How allergies, digestive disorders, cancer, and intestinal inflammation appear on the tongue
✅ Real-life case examples showing tongue changes before and during illness
🔍 Key Tongue Diagnosis Concepts Explained:
👅 Tip of the tongue (Heart & Emotions): Redness, fissures, or swelling can indicate emotional stress, sleep deprivation, or heart-related imbalance.
🫁 Frontal portion (Lungs & Bronchi): Swelling may reflect environmental or seasonal allergies and Lung Qi deficiency.
🍽️ Middle section (Stomach & Spleen): Digestive imbalances often appear here, while tongue edges relate to the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
🦠 Rear section (Intestines & Kidneys): Swollen taste buds and thick, greasy coating can signal intestinal inflammation such as ulcerative colitis.
📸 Featured Clinical Examples: 👩⚕️ A patient with chronic environmental allergies vs. acute allergen exposure after home remodeling
👨⚕️ A male patient undergoing radiation therapy for bile duct cancer showing liver-related tongue changes
👩⚕️ A female patient with ulcerative colitis flare-up detected through swelling and coating at the back of the tongue
These cases highlight the power of integrated Eastern and Western medicine in understanding and treating illness.
🌿 What a Healthy Tongue Looks Like:
✔️ Pinkish-red, fresh-meat color
✔️ Smooth, slightly glossy surface
✔️ Symmetrical shape with no cracks or swelling
✔️ Thin, semi-transparent white coating
✔️ Evenly distributed, non-enlarged taste buds
✨ Tongue diagnosis allows practitioners to observe internal imbalances early, often before lab results or imaging show abnormalities.
📩 Want a Personal Tongue Diagnosis? Email your tongue photo to: tonguetcm@gmail.com