眩冒

xuàn mào

Dizziness and clouding · xuan mao

Also rendered: vertigo and clouding ('Vertigo' is precise but imports a modern diagnosis) · swimming head (Idiomatic English, too informal for a clinical line)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: xuàn mào
Simplified: 眩冒
Literal: 眩 xuàn, dizziness, things turning before the eyes; 冒 mào, a covering over the head, clouding of the senses. Used together they describe a head that both spins and is muffled. Chapter 32 uses the pair once, for a heat disease beginning with dizziness and heat and fullness in the chest and flanks, and needles two channels for it.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：眩，目無常主也，从目玄聲；冒，冡而前也，从冃从目——**「眩」讀 xuàn，本篇惟此一見**，目眩也；**「冒」讀 mào，本篇惟此一見**，昏冒也，若有所蒙；**「眩冒」連文，即頭目昏眩而神識若蒙**，與上文「員員」「澹澹然」之疊字狀病者相類而此用複詞。「熱」讀 rè；「而」讀 ér，本篇十一見；「胸」讀 xiōng；「脅」讀 xié；「滿」讀 mǎn；「剌」讀 cì；「足」讀 zú；「少」讀 shào；「陰」讀 yīn；「陽」讀 yáng；「病」讀 bìng；「先」讀 xiān。**此證兼涉少陰少陽**：眩冒為少陰精虧而熱邪上擾，胸脅滿為少陽經氣不利，故二經並剌，**與上「剌足少陽，補足太陰」之瀉補兼施者同為複法**——本篇凡一證而涉二經者，皆並剌之，不單取一經。**本站別有「䀮」（id 717，huāng，目不明）一條**，與此「眩」之狀目眩者相近而各為一字，**勿混**。

In brief

Dizziness together with a clouding of the senses — a head that spins and is at the same time muffled. Chapter 32 uses the pair once, for a heat disease that begins with dizziness and heat and fullness in the chest and flanks, and needles both the foot shaoyin and the foot shaoyang. The two symptoms belong to two channels: the clouded head to the kidney, the full flanks to the shaoyang, and the chapter needles both rather than choosing.

Senses in the classical corpus

The two graphs 眩冒

眩為目眩，冒為昏冒，連文則頭目昏眩而神識若蒙

眩冒 — Suwen 32

Paired with heat 眩冒而熱

眩冒與熱並見，熱病初起之候

眩冒而熱 — Suwen 32

Paired with fullness 胸脅滿

眩冒屬少陰，胸脅滿屬少陽，二經並病

胸脅滿 — Suwen 32

Two channels needled at once 剌足少陰、少陽

本篇凡涉二經者皆並剌

剌足少陰、少陽 — Suwen 32

The last of the 先 group 熱病先眩冒而熱

本篇言「先」者七見，此其一

熱病先眩冒而熱 — Suwen 32

A compound where elsewhere there is a reduplicative 眩冒

與員員、澹澹然同狀頭目而用複詞

眩冒 — Suwen 32

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

3 passages

素問·剌熱 Suwen 32 · 剌熱 Read in context →

熱病先眩冒而熱，胸脅滿，剌足少陰、少陽。热病先眩冒而热，胸胁满，刺足少阴、少阳。

Rè bìng xiān xuàn mào ér rè, xiōng xié mǎn, cì zú shào yīn, shào yáng.

When a heat disease begins with dizziness and clouding along with heat, and fullness in the chest and flanks, needle the foot shaoyin and shaoyang.

熱病先眩冒而熱之刺法。「病」讀 bìng；「先」讀 xiān；**「眩」讀 xuàn，本篇惟此一見**；**「冒」讀 mào，本篇惟此一見**；「而」讀 ér；「熱」讀 rè；「胸」讀 xiōng；「脅」讀 xié；「滿」讀 mǎn；「剌」讀 cì；「足」讀 zú；「少」讀 shào；「陰」讀 yīn；「陽」讀 yáng。**本篇「先」字十三見，此為言病證之「先」者七見之一**——五藏熱病各有其「先」，熱病初起亦各有其「先」，「先」之所在即病之所在，即刺之所在，**本篇診法之捷訣，盡於此一字**。**眩冒（少陰）與胸脅滿（少陽）並見而二經並剌**：與上「剌足少陽，補足太陰」之瀉補兼施同為複法，見本篇於一證涉二經者不單取一經。

素問·氣交變大論 Suwen 69 · 氣交變大論 Read in context →

帝曰：五運之化，太過何如？歧伯曰：歲木太過，風氣流行，脾土受邪，民病飱泄食減，體重煩冤，腸鳴，腹支滿，上應歲星。甚則忽忽善怒，眩冒巔疾，化氣不政，生氣獨治，雲物飛動，草木不寧，甚而搖落，反脅痛而吐甚。衝陽絶者，死不治，上應太白星。帝曰：五运之化，太过何如？歧伯曰：岁木太过，风气流行，脾土受邪，民病飧泄食减，体重烦冤，肠鸣，腹支满，上应岁星。甚则忽忽善怒，眩冒巅疾，化气不政，生气独治，云物飞动，草木不宁，甚而摇落，反胁痛而吐甚。冲阳绝者，死不治，上应太白星。

Dì yuē: wǔ yùn zhī huà, tài guò hé rú? Qí bó yuē: suì mù tài guò, fēng qì liú xíng, pí tǔ shòu xié, mín bìng sūn xiè shí jiǎn, tǐ zhòng fán yuān, cháng míng, fù zhī mǎn, shàng yìng suì xīng. Shèn zé hū hū shàn nù, xuàn mào diān jí, huà qì bù zhèng, shēng qì dú zhì, yún wù fēi dòng, cǎo mù bù níng, shèn ér yáo luò, fǎn xié tòng ér tù shèn. Chōng yáng jué zhě, sǐ bù zhì, shàng yìng tài bái xīng.

Huang Di said: as for the transformation of the five circuits, what is it like when there is surplus? Qi Bo said: in a year of wood in surplus, the qi of wind spreads and moves and the earth of the spleen receives evil; the people are ill with gruel diarrhoea and diminished eating, a heavy body and freting oppression, rumbling in the bowels and fullness propping the abdomen; it answers above to Jupiter. If it is severe they are dazed and quick to anger, dizzy and veiled, with illness at the crown; the qi of transformation does not govern and the qi of growth rules alone, clouds and things fly and move, plants and trees are not at rest and are even shaken bare, and there is counterflow pain in the flanks and severe vomiting. Where Chongyang is cut off there is death and no cure; it answers above to Venus.

「甚則忽忽善怒，眩冒巔疾，化氣不政，生氣獨治」——**「眩冒」本篇1見，止此一見**；**眩冒與巔疾並見，皆歲木太過、風氣上盛於頭之候**；**第十段「渴而妄冒」之「冒」不入此目，別是一辭**；**「眩」讀 xuàn、「冒」讀 mào**

素問·玉機真藏論 Suwen 19 · 玉機真藏論 Read in context →

帝曰：春脉太過與不及，其病皆何如？歧伯曰：太過則令人善忘，忽忽眩冒而巔疾；其不及，則令人胸痛引背，下則兩脅胠滿。帝曰：善。帝曰：春脉太过与不及，其病皆何如？歧伯曰：太过则令人善忘，忽忽眩冒而巅疾；其不及，则令人胸痛引背，下则两胁胠满。帝曰：善。

Dì yuē: chūn mài tài guò yǔ bù jí, qí bìng jiē hé rú? Qí bó yuē: tài guò zé lìng rén shàn wàng, hū hū xuàn mào ér diān jí; qí bù jí, zé lìng rén xiōng tòng yǐn bèi, xià zé liǎng xié qū mǎn. Dì yuē: shàn.

With excess one becomes forgetful, muddled and dizzy, with disease of the crown of the head. With deficiency the chest aches and pulls through to the back, and lower down the two flanks are full.

「忽忽眩冒而巔疾」，春脉太過則令人善忘、忽忽眩冒而巔疾。眩冒者目眩而昏冒，氣之升於上者過也。

Compounds built on this term

眩冒

xuàn mào

dizziness and clouding

本篇一見，狀頭目昏眩而神識若蒙

員員

yuán yuán

spinning

本站本批已立目，與眩冒同狀頭目而用疊字

胸脅滿

xiōng xié mǎn

fullness in the chest and flanks

本篇一見，少陽經氣不利

䀮

huāng

blurred sight

本站已立目（id 717），與眩相近而別為一字

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng	dizziness and clouding	They keep both graphs as two English words, which is right: the pair is two symptoms, not one.
Unschuld	(with) dizziness and veiling	Unschuld's 'veiling' keeps the covering image of 冒, which is faithful but needs explaining.
This site	dizziness and clouding	We keep two words for two graphs. 冒 is literally a covering over the head; in English a clouded head is what that looks like from the inside, and it needs no gloss.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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