ABSTRACT
In Kampo medicine, a tongue examination, whereby the shape and color of the tongue is observed, is thought to reveal the constitution and condition of the patient. In Japan, numerous books on this tongue examination have been published. However, tongue findings are expressed differently in these books, and a standard description for such findings has yet to be established. A standard description would be useful when examining the tongue, and when educating students of Kampo medicine. We therefore compared how tongue colors and shapes were expressed in the Japanese literature on tongue examinations (12 publications).<br>Using these results, we have arrived at a standardized description for tongue findings in accordance with Kampo specialists of tongue diagnoses at many facilities. In the process, we focused on easily recognizable findings that can be noted with short clinical examination times, and that can also be understood by beginners.
ABSTRACT
Of the four basic medical diagnoses in Chinese medicine, tongue examinations rank in importance with pulse examinations. The conventional method of clinically recording the color of the tongue by taking photographs with film cameras generally presents various problems, such as the difficulty of establishing objective procedures and the long-term storage of records.<br>The authors accordingly attempted to enhance the objectivity of tongue examinations by devising a new image correction procedure combining the use of color-and-size-matching stickers (image correction color charts) and computers utilizing a digital camera. As a result, the images that are output after correction not only reproduce the tongue in its actual size but also make it possible to approximate color system values measured from the actual tongue, thereby suggesting the possibility of a useful procedure for making objective evaluations in tongue examinations.