All About Abdominal Palpation / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

In Japanese Kampo, we use abdominal palpation as a clinical examination method. Abdominal palpation, a kind of tactile inspection method, which in turn is one of the four mainstays inspection methods (palpation, visual, auditory, and verbal), is the most effective technique giving one information to determine a patient's sho diagnosis. Moreover, abdominal palpation is the only clinical examination method of those traditional techniques passed down to the countries and regions of East Asia, which was developed solely in Japan. Abdominal palpation as it is practiced today stems mainly from the Koho-ha Old School of thought, which traces back to ancient Shokanron (Treatise of Cold Damage Disorders) text medicine, although it also influences the Secchu-ha Compromise School of thought. And although an awareness of abdominal palpation is perfunctory, it does require a certain amount of training and proficiency, as it is a skill. In this paper, we discuss abdominal palpation findings amassed over many long years since ancient times.