腎痺 简体 肾痹

shèn bì

Kidney obstruction

Also rendered: kidney obstruction (Literal) · kidney bi (Pinyin for the disease word) · renal impediment (Latinate)

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
shèn bì
Simplified
肾痹
Literal
腎 the kidney; 痺 obstruction. The obstruction named when the face is black and the pulse is hard and large in its upper part.
Shuowen
《說文解字》:腎,水藏也;痹,濕病也。

In brief

The black case, and the last of the five. The pulse comes hard and large in the upper part; the accumulated qi is in the lower belly and the genitals. The cause is the plainest in the chapter — bathing in cold water and then lying down. It is also the shortest of the five entries: no accompanying symptoms, no cold and heat, just the place and the cause.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The obstruction named from a black face 名曰腎痺
黑色、脉上堅而大、積氣在小腹與陰
黑,脉之至也,上堅而大,有積氣在小腹與陰,名曰腎痺 — Suwen 10
2
Contracted from a cold bath 沐浴清水而卧
清水 is cold water; lying down after it is what lets the cold in
得之沐浴清水而卧 — Suwen 10

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·五藏生成 Suwen 10 · 五藏生成 Read in context →
黑,脉之至也,上堅而大,有積氣在小腹與陰,名曰腎痺,得之沐浴清水而卧。 黑,脉之至也,上坚而大,有积气在小腹与阴,名曰肾痹,得之沐浴清水而卧。
hēi, mài zhī zhì yě, shàng jiān ér dà, yǒu jī qì zài xiǎo fù yǔ yīn, míng yuē shèn bì, dé zhī mù yù qīng shuǐ ér wò.
Black: the pulse arrives hard and large in the upper part. There is accumulated qi in the lower belly and the genitals. It is called kidney obstruction; it is contracted by bathing in cold water and then lying down.
黑色一條,五痺之末,最短:但言積氣之處與所得之由,不言兼症。「陰」謂前陰。
素問·痺論 Suwen 43 · 痺論 Read in context →
凡痺之客五藏者,肺痺者,煩滿喘而嘔;心痺者,脉不通,煩則心下鼓,暴上氣而喘,嗌乾善噫,厥氣上則恐;肝痺者,夜卧則驚,多飲數小便,上爲引如懷;腎痺者,善脹,凥以代踵,脊以代頭;脾痺者,四支解墯,發欬嘔汁,上爲大塞;腸痺者,數飲而出不得,中氣喘爭,時發飱泄;胞痺者,少腹膀胱,按之内痛,若沃以湯,澀於小便,上爲清涕。 凡痹之客五脏者,肺痹者,烦满喘而呕;心痹者,脉不通,烦则心下鼓,暴上气而喘,嗌干善噫,厥气上则恐;肝痹者,夜卧则惊,多饮数小便,上为引如怀;肾痹者,善胀,凥以代踵,脊以代头;脾痹者,四肢解惰,发咳呕汁,上为大塞;肠痹者,数饮而出不得,中气喘争,时发飧泄;胞痹者,少腹膀胱,按之内痛,若沃以汤,涩于小便,上为清涕。
Fán bì zhī kè wǔ zàng zhě, fèi bì zhě, fán mǎn chuǎn ér ǒu; xīn bì zhě, mài bù tōng, fán zé xīn xià gǔ, bào shàng qì ér chuǎn, yì gān shàn ài, jué qì shàng zé kǒng; gān bì zhě, yè wò zé jīng, duō yǐn shuò xiǎo biàn, shàng wéi yǐn rú huái; shèn bì zhě, shàn zhàng, jū yǐ dài zhǒng, jǐ yǐ dài tóu; pí bì zhě, sì zhī jiě duò, fā kài ǒu zhī, shàng wéi dà sè; cháng bì zhě, shuò yǐn ér chū bù dé, zhōng qì chuǎn zhēng, shí fā sūn xiè; bāo bì zhě, shào fù páng guāng, àn zhī nèi tòng, ruò wò yǐ tāng, sè yú xiǎo biàn, shàng wéi qīng tì.
For obstruction lodging in the five stores: lung obstruction is fullness and distress, panting and vomiting; heart obstruction is the vessels not passing through — distress brings a beating below the heart, sudden rising qi and panting, a dry pharynx and frequent belching, and when the counterflow qi rises, fear; liver obstruction is starting in the night, drinking much and passing water often, with a drawing upward that feels like carrying a child; kidney obstruction is a readiness to swell, the rump taking the place of the heel and the spine taking the place of the head; spleen obstruction is slackness of the four limbs, coughing and vomiting fluid, and great stoppage above; intestinal obstruction is drinking often and yet not passing it, the central qi contending with panting, and from time to time outflow diarrhea; bladder obstruction is pain within the lower abdomen and bladder when pressed, as though hot water had been poured in, rough passage of urine, and clear snivel above.
「腎痺者,善脹,凥以代踵,脊以代頭」——**本篇「腎」3見**;「凥」讀 jū,**从尸从几,讀 jū,「居」之本字**,**與 ch41「引項脊凥背」「刺腰凥交者」同字**;「踵」讀 zhǒng、**足跟也**。**凥以代踵、脊以代頭**——**足不能行則以凥代踵,頭不能舉則以脊代頭**,**本篇不作「尻」**。**骨合於腎,故骨痺不已則内舍於腎**。
素問·四時刺逆從論 Suwen 64 · 四時刺逆從論 Read in context →
太陽有餘,病骨痺身重;不足病腎痺;滑則病腎風疝,濇則病積,善時巔疾。 太阳有余,病骨痹身重;不足病肾痹;滑则病肾风疝,涩则病积,善时巅疾。
Tài yáng yǒu yú, bìng gǔ bì shēn zhòng; bù zú bìng shèn bì; huá zé bìng shèn fēng shàn, sè zé bìng jī, shàn shí diān jí.
When greater yang is in surplus the disease is bone obstruction and heaviness of the body; when it is insufficient, kidney obstruction. A slippery pulse brings kidney wind mounting; a rough pulse brings accumulation, with a tendency at times to disease of the crown.
「不足病腎痺」——**太陽不足則腎氣怯,故病腎痺**;**與第四十三篇「腎痺者,善脹,尻以代踵,脊以代頭」互見**

Compounds built on this term

上堅而大
shàng jiān ér dà
hard and large in the upper part
The pulse at the upper end of the cubit
小腹與陰
xiǎo fù yǔ yīn
the lower belly and the genitals
陰 here is the private part, not yin
清水
qīng shuǐ
cold water
Plain water, cold by contrast with heated

How it has been translated

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

Common Englishkidney bi / kidney painful obstructionFollows the standard rendering of 痺.
This sitekidney obstructionKept; and 陰 is rendered the genitals here, not yin, because the chapter is listing a place in the body where the qi has gathered.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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