Classica Sinica Medica

瘕

jiǎ

Jia

Also rendered: Jia (this site; kept in pinyin, as the word covers several gatherings rather than one named disease) · Abdominal mass (where the emphasis falls on the lump rather than on the pulse that names it)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-10-01

At a glance

Pinyin
jiǎ
Simplified
瘕
Literal
瘕 jiǎ — the other half of chapter 48's pair. Where 疝 comes of a pulse that is large, tight and sunken, 瘕 comes of one that is small and tight and does not beat out: three pulses — kidney, liver, heart — all small and tight, and 不鼓, the beat does not rise. The chapter repeats the name from the conduit side as well, so that the pair is complete: tightness in the third yang makes 瘕, tightness in the third yin makes 疝.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：瘕，女病也，从疒叚聲。「瘕」讀 jiǎ、**本篇二見**；「鼓」讀 gǔ、**本篇五見，「不鼓」者脉不應手而起**。

In brief

The gathering chapter 48 sets against shan: it comes of a small, tight pulse that fails to beat up under the finger, and the chapter names it both from the three pulses that share that shape and from tightness in the third yang. The distinguishing mark is 不鼓 — the pulse does not rise — which is exactly what the large tight pulse of shan does.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graph 瘕
从疒叚聲，聚而時散之病
皆爲瘕 — Suwen 48
2
From the pulse 小急
脉小而急，三藏之脉同見
腎脉小急，肝脉小急，心脉小急 — Suwen 48
3
The mark that decides it 不鼓
脉不應指而起，與疝之大急沈相反
不鼓，皆爲瘕 — Suwen 48
4
From the conduit 三陽急
三陽之脉急，亦為瘕
三陽急，爲瘕 — Suwen 48
5
Set beside shan 與疝對舉
同為聚病，而脉之大小鼓不鼓別之
三陽急，爲瘕；三陰急，爲疝 — Suwen 48
6
What the chapter is doing 以脉別名
二病同名聚，脉異則名異
三陽急，爲瘕；三陰急，爲疝 — Suwen 48

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
2 passages
Suwen 48 Suwen 48 · 大奇論 Read in context →
腎脉小急，肝脉小急，心脉小急，不鼓，皆爲瘕。 肾脉小急，肝脉小急，心脉小急，不鼓，皆为瘕。
Shèn mài xiǎo jí, gān mài xiǎo jí, xīn mài xiǎo jí, bù gǔ, jiē wéi jiǎ.
A small and hurried kidney, liver or heart vessel, one that does not beat up under the finger, all signify masses.
**「皆爲瘕」——**「瘕」讀 jiǎ、**本篇二見**；「鼓」讀 gǔ、**本篇五見，「不鼓」為瘕之定脉**；**下段「三陽急，爲瘕」復申之，與「三陰急，爲疝」對舉**。
素問·骨空論 Suwen 60 · 骨空論 Read in context →
任脉爲病，男子内結七疝，女子帶下瘕聚。 任脉为病，男子内结七疝，女子带下瘕聚。
Rèn mài wéi bìng, nán zǐ nèi jié qī shàn, nǚ zǐ dài xià jiǎ jù.
When the conception vessel is diseased, in men it binds inward into the seven hernias; in women, into discharge below and gatherings and masses.
「女子帶下「瘕」讀 jiǎ「聚」讀 jù」——**「瘕」讀 jiǎ，本篇1見**；**本目第四十八篇以瘕與疝對舉：疝為緊脉，瘕為小緊而不鼓之脉**；**本篇則以瘕聚為任脉之病，聚而成形者**；「聚」讀 jù、**「聚」讀 jù，本篇1見**

Compounds built on this term

瘕
jiǎ
jia
病名，本篇二見
不鼓
bù gǔ
not beating up
瘕家之脉
小急
xiǎo jí
small and tight
三藏同見之脉
三陽急
sān yáng jí
the third yang tight
亦為瘕

How it has been translated

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

This sitejiakept in pinyin because the chapter defines it by the pulse, not by what can be felt in the belly
Unschuldjiahe transliterates the pair 疝瘕 together
Wisemanconcretionhis system renders 瘕 as a formed gathering

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-01

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Reading path

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

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