Classica Sinica Medica

攣節 简体 挛节

luán jié

Contracted joints · luan jie

Also rendered: spasms of the joints (Too sudden; 攣 is a state, not an episode) · curled joints (Vivid but suggests a shape the text does not describe)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
luán jié
Simplified
挛节
Literal
攣 luán, drawn together, contracted — the graph has 手 in it; 節 jié, the joints, the nodes of the body. The chapter's closing prediction for the bone impediment patient: the joints will draw up. It is the visible end of a chain the chapter has spelled out step by step — kidney fat withered, marrow unfilled, cold at the bone, and finally the joints that can no longer open.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：攣，係也，从手，䜌聲——牽係不伸之謂。「攣」讀 luán，本篇惟此一見——**从手从䜌，拘牽也，不作「挛」（「挛」）**；「節」讀 jié，本篇惟此一見——**从竹从即，骨節也，不作「节」（「节」）**；「是」讀 shì；「人」讀 rén；「當」讀 dāng；「也」讀 yě。**「攣節」者，關節拘攣也**——與病名「骨痺」相應：**痺在骨則節為之攣**。**二字皆从本篇之底本字形**，與上文「骨痺」之「痺」同例：本篇生僻字多（痺、慄、攣、爍、絮、孤、髓、苛），**無一從今體，各從底本**。

In brief

The joints drawn up and unable to open — what the chapter says will happen to the person with bone impediment. It is the last link in a chain: withered kidney fat, marrow that does not fill, cold that reaches the bone, and finally the joints.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The prediction 是人當攣節也
與「是人當肉爍也」同一句法
是人當攣節也 — Suwen 34
2
What it follows 病名曰骨痺
痺在骨，故節為之攣
病名曰骨痺 — Suwen 34
3
The cold that got there 故寒甚至骨也
寒至骨而後節攣
故寒甚至骨也 — Suwen 34
4
The marrow unfilled 腎不生則髓不能滿
髓不滿則骨失其養
腎不生則髓不能滿 — Suwen 34
5
The kidney fat withered 腎脂枯不長
枯不長，故髓無所生
腎脂枯不長 — Suwen 34
6
The chapter's other prediction 是人當肉爍也
一熱一寒，各斷其變
是人當肉爍也 — Suwen 34

Occurrences in the classics

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

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1 passages
素問·逆調論 Suwen 34 · 逆調論 Read in context →
所以不能凍慄者，肝一陽也，心二陽也，腎孤藏也，一水不能勝二火，故不能凍慄，病名曰骨痺，是人當攣節也。 所以不能冻栗者，肝一阳也，心二阳也，肾孤藏也，一水不能胜二火，故不能冻栗，病名曰骨痹，是人当挛节也。
Suǒ yǐ bù néng dòng lì zhě, gān yī yáng yě, xīn èr yáng yě, shèn gū zàng yě, yī shuǐ bù néng shèng èr huǒ, gù bù néng dòng lì, bìng míng yuē gǔ bì, shì rén dāng luán jié yě.
The reason there is no shivering: the liver is one yang, the heart a second yang, and the kidney a solitary store — one water cannot overcome two fires, hence no shivering. The disease is called bone impediment, and such a person will have contracted joints.
第三答之末句所在。「所」讀 suǒ；「以」讀 yǐ；「不」讀 bù；「能」讀 néng；「凍」讀 dòng；「慄」讀 lì；「者」讀 zhě；「肝」讀 gān；「一」讀 yī；「陽」讀 yáng；「心」讀 xīn；「二」讀 èr；「腎」讀 shèn；「孤」讀 gū；「藏」讀 zàng；「水」讀 shuǐ；「勝」讀 shèng；「火」讀 huǒ；「故」讀 gù；「病」讀 bìng；「名」讀 míng；「曰」讀 yuē；「骨」讀 gǔ；「痺」讀 bì；「是」讀 shì；「人」讀 rén；「當」讀 dāng；「攣」讀 luán；「節」讀 jié；「也」讀 yě。**「一水不能勝兩火」與「一水不能勝二火」凡二見，「兩」「二」異字**：「兩」言其耦，「二」言其數。**「肝一陽也，心二陽也，腎孤藏也」十三字，是此節最精處**：以藏府之陰陽為數而較其勝負——**本篇不言五行而言一水二火，是其設喻之別**。

Compounds built on this term

攣節
luán jié
contracted joints
骨痺之變，本篇寒證之終
骨痺
gǔ bì
bone impediment
攣節之所從來
腎脂枯不長
shèn zhī kū bù zhǎng
kidney fat withered, not growing
長讀 zhǎng，與「不能生長」同讀
是人當
shì rén dāng
such a person will …
本篇預後之詞，二見

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Fengcontracted jointsThey keep 攣 as a state of being drawn together, which is what the graph says with 手.
Unschuldthe joints are drawn togetherUnschuld renders the passive the Chinese implies, which is accurate and a little long.
This sitecontracted jointsWe keep the state rather than the event. The chapter is predicting, not describing — 是人當 is 'such a person will' — and the English should read as a prognosis rather than a symptom.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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