Sinew enduring illness

At a glance

Pinyin

zhěn jīn

Simplified

疹筋

Literal

疹筋 zhěn jīn — and 疹 here is not a rash. In this chapter the word means a long-standing illness: it appears three times, twice of an illness being formed and once in this name. The sign the chapter reads is at the cubit: the pulse rapid, the sinews tense and standing out, the abdomen drawn tight, and — the detail that settles the prognosis — colour showing white or black.

Shuowen

《說文解字》：疹，脣瘍也，从疒㐱聲。「疹」讀 zhěn、**本篇3見**：**「以成其疹」「故曰疹成」「此所謂疹筋」**；「筋」讀 jīn、**本篇2見**；**疹讀 zhěn，此為久病之義，非瘡疹之疹**。