肉腠

ròu còu

The flesh's crevices · rou cou

Also rendered: The flesh's crevices (this site; 腠 is kept as the grain of the flesh rather than as an anatomical layer, so that it can open and close) · Rou cou (transliteration; used when the word is quoted beside 湊理)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-10

At a glance

Pinyin: ròu còu
Simplified: 肉腠
Literal: 肉 ròu — the flesh (《說文》: 肉，胾肉：meat, flesh); 腠 còu — the grain of the flesh, the fine spaces between skin and muscle (《說文》無腠字，徐鉉新附：腠，膚理也). 肉腠 is where the sweat goes, where the cold lodges, and — when the yang qi is pure and still — what closes and refuses the wind. This chapter writes the same word 湊理 at its close, with 湊 for 腠.
Shuowen: **「肉」讀 ròu，本篇4見**；**「腠」讀 còu，本篇2見**；**「肉腠」本篇2見**；**《說文》：肉，胾肉；腠為後起字，徐鉉新附曰：腠，膚理也**；**本篇末段作「湊理」，湊與腠聲近義通，同篇二形並見**

In brief

The interstices of the flesh — the fine spaces between skin and muscle that Suwen 3 treats as the body’s outer door. When the yang qi is pure and still they close and refuse the wind, so that even a great wind or a virulent poison cannot do harm; when they are open, dampness lingers in them and cold qi follows them in, and what lodges there becomes fistula, abscess or malaria. The chapter’s last paragraph writes the same word 湊理, and the two forms are kept side by side.

Senses in the classical corpus

The graphs 肉腠

肉為肌，腠為膚理；謂肌肉之分理

留連肉腠 — Suwen 3

What closes it 清靜則肉腠閉拒

陽氣清靜，則腠理閉而拒邪

清靜則肉腠閉拒，雖有大風苛毒，弗之能害 — Suwen 3

What lodges in it 陷脉爲瘻，留連肉腠

寒氣留連不去，故成瘻

陷脉爲瘻，留連肉腠，俞氣化薄 — Suwen 3

The same word written 湊湊理以密

湊與腠聲近義通，同篇二形

氣血以流，湊理以密 — Suwen 3

What keeps it close 謹和五味

五味和則氣血流而腠理密

氣血以流，湊理以密，如是則骨氣以精 — Suwen 3

What opens it 汗出見濕，乃生痤疿

汗出受濕則腠理開，故生痤疿

汗出見濕，乃生痤疿 — Suwen 3

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

1 passages

素問·生氣通天論 Suwen 3 · 生氣通天論 Read in context →

陽氣者，精則養神，柔則養筋，開闔不得，寒氣從之，乃生大僂。陷脉爲瘻，留連肉腠，俞氣化薄，傳爲善畏，及爲驚駭。阳气者，精则养神，柔则养筋，开阖不得，寒气从之，乃生大偻。陷脉为瘘，留连肉腠，俞气化薄，传为善畏，及为惊骇。

Yáng qì zhě, jīng zé yǎng shén, róu zé yǎng jīn, kāi hé bù dé, hán qì cóng zhī, nǎi shēng dà lóu. xiàn mài wéi lòu, liú lián ròu còu, shù qì huà bó, chuán wéi shàn wèi, jí wéi jīng hài.

The yang qi in its fineness nourishes the shen, in its suppleness nourishes the sinews. If opening and closing do not accord, the cold qi follows it in and there is great hunching. Sunk into the vessels it becomes fistula; lingering in the flesh and its crevices, the qi of the transport points turns oppressive, and what it transmits is a readiness to fear and to be terrified.

**「肉腠」本篇2見**；**末段作「湊理」，湊與腠聲近義通，同篇二形並見，不為統一**；**「留連」之留讀 liú，連讀 lián**

Compounds built on this term

肌肉

jī ròu

the flesh

本篇1見

清淨則志意治

qīng jìng zé zhì yì zhì

pure and still, so the will is ordered

本篇1見

閉拒

bì jù

closed and refusing

本篇1見

湊理以密

còu lǐ yǐ mì

the crevices made close

本篇1見

How it has been translated

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

This site	The flesh's crevices · rou cou	腠 has no single English equivalent; a crevice is at least a thing with an opening
Literal	the grain of the flesh	exact for 腠, and it keeps the image of a surface that runs a direction
Descriptive	the interstices	the anatomical term; right, but it loses the door the chapter argues from

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-10

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