The TCM Pattern of the Six-Zang and Six-Fu Organs Can Be Simplified Into the Pattern of Five-Zang and One-Fu Organs
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, June 2011; 31(2): 147-151 147 TCM Ideology and Methodology The TCM Pattern of the Six-Zang and Six-Fu Organs Can Be Simplified into the Pattern of Five-Zang and One-Fu Organs ZHANG Lei ᓴ⺞, ZHANG Qi-ming ᓴਃᯢ 2, WANG Yi-guo ⥟Н 2, YU Dong-lin Ѣϰᵫ 1, and ZHANG Wei ᓴӳ 3 Objective: To simplify the TCM pattern of the zang-fu organs. Methods: A database of zang-fu syndromes was established. The relationship between the zang-fu syndromes was analyzed by means of frequency analysis, association rule, and ɮ-coefficient correlation. Results: The six zang-fu organs of the heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, and stomach prove to be the main components of the zang-fu pattern. The large intestine, small intestine, gallbladder, bladder, triple energizer, and pericardium have strong association and positive correlation with the above-mentioned six zang-fu organs, and their clinical symptoms can all be included into the symptoms of these six zang-fu organs. Conclusion: The traditional TCM pattern of six-zang and six-fu can be simplified into five-zang and one-fu. Keywords: zang-fu pattern; association rule; data tapping; the basic TCM theory In TCM, the pattern of zang-fu involves five-zang, six-fu, and modern times were selected from the library of and extraordinary-fu organs, in which the functions of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. the extraordinary-fu organs are included in those of the The medical records were first scanned and stored in five-zang and six-fu organs. Since in the doctrine of image patterns, which were then recognized and meridian the Pericardium Channel of Hand Jueyin and proofread into text pattern. Altogether 51,186 pieces of the Triple Energizer Channel of Hand Shaoyang are medical records were collected. internally and externally related, the pericardium is thus included in the category of zang organs.1 Therefore, the The Establishment of Database of Zang-Fu traditional TCM zang-fu pattern is mainly consisted of Syndromes1 six-zang and six-fu organs. However, in the zang-fu The syndromes enrolled in the research involved those of differentiation, the syndromes of some zang-fu organs, the the six-zang organs, the liver, heart, spleen, lung, such as the pericardium and triple energizer are rarely kidney, and pericardium; and the six-fu organs, the seen; and the syndromes of some zang-fu organs, such as gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, the gallbladder, rarely occur singly. These phenomena triple energizer, and bladder. The syndromes of these have brought about the further thinking that the zang-fu organs were separated from the original pathogenic changes of what organs may often occur differential texts in the database of medical records of the together; the pathogenic changes of what organs may successive dynasties. For instance, the corresponding rarely occur singly; and whether the traditional TCM original differential text for the medical record recorded zang-fu pattern can be simplified. These problems can be as No.6 (each medical record corresponding to only one solved through studying on large amounts of clinical data. recording number) is qi-deficiency of the spleen and Based on the database of TCM medical records of stomach, form which we can get the syndromes of two successive dynasties set up in the initial stage of the zang-fu organs, the spleen and stomach. According the subject, this essay is aimed at having a new knowledge requirement of the data tapping in this research, the about the traditional TCM zang-fu pattern through studying on the correlation between the syndromes of the 1. Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan zang-fu organs with the use of association rule and other 250355, China; 2. Institute of Basic Clinical Traditional Chinese methods. Medicine, China Academy of TCM Science, Bejing 100700, China; 3. Ningxia University of Medicine, Yinchuan 750004, China SOURCE OF INFORMATION Correspondence to: Prof. ZHANG Qi-ming, Tel: +86-10- The Collection of Medical Records 64014411-3311; Fax: +86-10-8403-2881, E-mail: zhang_917 Based on The Complex Index of Nation-wide TCM Books, @126.com. Supported by the National Fund Supporting Project of Natural the definite criteria for enrollment and exclusion were set 2 Science (No.30772695); National Supporting Plan for Science and up. The 229 volumes of works of medical records Technology in “The 11th Five-year Plan” (No.2006 written by 1,483 TCM physicians respectively in the BAI08B01-05); National Major Special Subject of Science and Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasties, and contemporary Technology (No.2009ZX10005-019) 148 Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, June 2011; 31(2): 147-151 source of data should contain two lists, including the all the medical records, there are 3,171 pieces of medical recording number and zang-fu syndromes. The records with the simultaneous appearance of syndromes corresponding relationship between the recording of the spleen and liver, therefore, the supporting count of number and zang-fu syndromes can be one to several.3 this item collection {spleen, liver} is 3,171, the So, we need to divide the medical record corresponding supporting degree being 3,171/28,331=11.19%. Suppose to several zang-fu syndromes into several lines of records, A and B are two empty item collections i.e. item and in the end, to establish the database of zang-fu collection A and item collection B do not have the same syndromes. The final database of Zang-fu syndromes is zang-fu; then, the confidence degree of rule Aĺ B is the showed as Table 1. 48,728 data and 28,331 clinical conditional probability of the appearance of item records are involved. collection B along with the appearance of item collection A. For instance, item collection A stands for {spleen}, Table 1. Database of zang-fu syndromes and item collection B stands for {liver}, then, the confidence degree of rule spleen ĺ liver should be the Record number Zang-fu syndrome elements probability of appearance of liver syndrome along with 1 Xin ᖗ the appearance of spleen syndrome. This probability can 4 Fei 㚎 be achieved by the supporting count of item collection 4 Gan 㙱 {spleen, liver} divided by the supporting count of item 4 Xin ᖗ collection {spleen}. The supporting count of item collection {spleen} is 9,589, thus, the confidence degree ᖗࣙ 4 Pericardium of rule spleen ĺ liver should be 3,171/9,589=33.07%. 6 Wei 㚗 Those item collections having the lowest supporting 6 Pi 㜒 count are called the frequent item collections. The rules 12 Fei 㚎 that have both the lowest supporting count and the lowest 12 Gan 㙱 confidence degree are called strong association rules. If we suppose the lowest supporting count is 50, and the lowest confidence degree is 20%, then, the item METHODS collection {spleen, liver} is the frequent item collection, and the rule spleen ĺ liver is the strong association rule. The Association Rule In the database of zang-fu syndromes, one medical The tapping of association rule can be divided into the record can be corresponded to several zang-fu syndromes. following two steps. First, to find out all the frequent For instance, the corresponding zang-fu syndromes of item collections according to the determined lowest medical record No.4 are those of the lung, liver, heart supporting count; and then make out the confidence and pericardium, and the corresponding zang-fu degree of the association rule produced by the frequent syndromes of medical record No.12 are those of the lung item collection, and decide the strong association rule and liver. If we make analysis on the corresponding based on the determined lowest confidence degree.4 syndromes of several medical records, we can find that the zang-fu syndromes of some zang-fu organs can often This research has studied the relationship between the appear at the same time, however, the syndromes of syndromes of 12 zang-fu organs by means of the data some other zang-fu organs rarely appear. This tapping program of Excel 2007 out connecting SQL relationship can reflect the correlation between the 2005.5 The number of strong association rule found out zang-fu syndromes. We can use the data tapping method by the association rule is related with valve values of the in the association rule to express the degree of this supporting count and confidence degree designed by the relationship. customer. If the valve value is designed too high, only very few strong association rules can be found, which The association rule is a data tapping method to find out can not reflex the relationship between the zang-fu the relationship between the centered data items. The organs in an all round way. If the valve value is designed database of zang-fu syndromes can be considered as a too low, most of the zang-fu organs would have strong data collection, in which the 12 zang-fu syndromes are relationship, which is of no significance. Only when 12 data items. The gathering of data item is called item appropriate valve value is selected, can the relationship collection, and the item collection containing k items is between the zang-fu organs be exactly reflected. For called k-item collection. For instance, {spleen, stomach} instance, if the valve value of confidence degree is is 2-item collection that contains 2 items. The supporting designed as 19.80%, the triple energizer can not be degree refers to the probability of simultaneous enrolled in the research. If the valve value of the appearance of all the items in an item collection.