Classica Sinica Medica

筋膜

jīn mó

Sinew membrane

Also rendered: Sinew membrane (this site; both graphs kept) · Sinew and its sheaths (where 膜 is spelled out as the wrapping rather than the sheet)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-09-29

At a glance

Pinyin
jīn mó
Simplified
筋膜
Literal
筋膜 jīn mó — the tissue the liver governs, named in the chapter's first answer. It is the sinew and the sheets that wrap it, and the chapter's account of it is short and physical: liver qi hot, the gallbladder discharges, the sinew membranes dry, and dry sinews tighten and cramp.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：筋，肉之力也；膜，肉間胲膜也。「筋」、**本篇14見**；「膜」讀 mó、**本篇3見，皆在「筋膜」二字中**；**與 ch29 脾胃相連之膜同名而異指**，**此為肝之所主**。

In brief

The sinews and their wrapping sheets, the tissue assigned to the liver. Chapter 44 uses it to show why liver heat produces cramping before it produces flaccidity: the membranes dry first, the sinews tighten, and only then does the limb fail.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 筋、膜
筋者肉之力，膜者肉間之膜
肝主身之筋膜 — Suwen 44
2
What the liver governs 肝主身之筋膜
五藏各有所主，肝之所主在筋膜
肝主身之筋膜 — Suwen 44
3
What heat does to it 筋膜乾
肝熱則膽泄口苦，筋膜為之乾
筋膜乾，筋膜乾則筋急而攣 — Suwen 44
4
Why it cramps 筋急而攣
筋膜既乾，則筋失濡而拘急攣縮
筋膜乾則筋急而攣 — Suwen 44
5
Where it ends 發爲筋痿
筋膜之病，其終為筋痿
發爲筋痿 — Suwen 44
6
Set against the other tissues 皮毛、血脉、肌肉、骨髓
五體並列，各有所主之藏
肺主身之皮毛，心主身之血脉 — Suwen 44

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
1 passages
Suwen 44 Suwen 44 · 痿論 Read in context →
歧伯對曰：肺主身之皮毛，心主身之血脉，肝主身之筋膜，脾主身之肌肉，腎主身之骨髓。 歧伯对曰：肺主身之皮毛，心主身之血脉，肝主身之筋膜，脾主身之肌肉，肾主身之骨髓。
Qí bó duì yuē: fèi zhǔ shēn zhī pí máo, xīn zhǔ shēn zhī xuè mài, gān zhǔ shēn zhī jīn mó, pí zhǔ shēn zhī jī ròu, shèn zhǔ shēn zhī gǔ suǐ.
Qi Bo replies: the lung governs the skin and hair of the body, the heart governs the blood vessels, the liver governs the sinew membranes, the spleen governs the flesh, and the kidney governs the bones and marrow.
**「肝主身之筋膜」——**「筋」、**本篇14見**；「膜」讀 mó、**本篇3見，皆在「筋膜」二字中**；**五藏所主之序：肺皮毛、心血脉、肝筋膜、脾肌肉、腎骨髓**；**後文五痿即由此出**。

Compounds built on this term

筋膜
jīn mó
sinew membrane
本篇三見，肝之所主
筋膜乾
jīn mó gān
the sinew membranes dry
肝熱之果
筋急而攣
jīn jí ér luán
the sinews tighten and cramp
筋膜乾之續
肝主筋膜
gān zhǔ jīn mó
the liver governs the sinew membranes
五藏所主之一

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

This sitesinew membrane膜 was entered earlier from Suwen 29 as the sheet between spleen and stomach; here it is the liver's tissue
Unschuldsinews and membraneshe keeps the two graphs apart
Wisemansinew membranethe compound is kept whole in his system

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-29

Search the glossary

Reading path

Guided routes through the corpus, each built on a handful of chapters and their key terms.

See all reading paths