Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms: The Human Body

The "Chapter on the Fundamental Organs" original: "本藏篇" (Benzang pian); a chapter from the Ling Shu (Divine Pivot) that discusses how the size and position of organs affect a person's constitution. states:

If the kidneys are small, the organ is secure and difficult to injure. If the kidneys are large, one is prone to illness, suffering from lower back pain and an inability to bend or look up original: "俛仰" (fuyan); the physical movement of bowing the head/bending the torso and raising the head/straightening up.; such kidneys are easily harmed by external pathogens.

If the kidneys are positioned high, one suffers from pain in the back and along the spine original: "背膂" (beilü); specifically the muscles and structures flanking the spine. and cannot easily bend or look up. If the kidneys are positioned low, there is pain in the lower back and tailbone original: "腰尻" (yaokao); "kao" refers to the sacrum or coccyx area., an inability to bend or look up, and a predisposition to "fox hernia" original: "狐疝" (hushan); a traditional term for an inguinal hernia, so named because it was thought to retract like a fox hiding in its den..

If the kidneys are firm, one does not suffer from lower back or back pain. If the kidneys are brittle, one suffers from "wasting-thirst" disease original: "消癉" (xiaodan); a condition characterized by intense thirst and weight loss, similar to modern diabetes. and is easily injured.

If the kidneys are upright and aligned, the body is harmonious and the organs function smoothly, making them difficult to injure. If the kidneys are tilted or slanted, one suffers from pain in the lower back and tailbone.

External Signs of the Kidneys

Those with dark-toned skin In the Five Elements theory, the color black corresponds to the Water element and the Kidneys. and fine skin texture have small kidneys; those with coarse skin texture have large kidneys.

Those with high-set ears have high kidneys. Those with a depression behind the ears have low kidneys. Those with firm ears have? firm kidneys. Those with thin ears that are not firm have brittle kidneys. Those whose ears are well-proportioned and sit forward near the jawbone jawbone original: "牙車" (yache); an archaic term for the mandible or lower jaw. have upright kidneys. Those with one ear tilted higher than the other have slanted kidneys.