Classica Sinica Medica

口麋

kǒu mí

Mouth rot · kou mi

Also rendered: Mouth rot (this site; short, and matches the register of 糜) · Oral ulceration (the clinical term; too modern for a chapter that says only 口麋)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
kǒu mí
Simplified
口麋
Literal
口麋 kǒu mí — mouth, and 麋. The base text writes 麋 , the deer radical, and it is glossed as 糜 , the rice radical: cooked to mush, rotten. The site keeps the base-text graph and records the gloss. What makes the line interesting is its direction: heat goes from the bladder into the small intestine, the intestine is blocked below, and the sign appears 上, above, in the mouth. The chapter sets this 上 against the 下 of 濁涕下不止 later on.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：麋，鹿屬——**本義為麋鹿**；**「糜」則訓為「糝也」，煮米使爛**——**「口麋」之「麋」，舊注讀為「糜」，謂口舌糜爛**。「麋」讀 mí，本篇惟此一見，**通「糜」（「糜」讀 mí）**；**底本作「麋」（鹿部），不作「糜」（米部），本站照錄其形而注其義**。「口」讀 kǒu；「上」讀 shàng。

In brief

Rotten ulceration of the mouth, appearing above when the bladder shifts heat into the small intestine and the intestine is blocked below. The base text writes 麋, glossed as 糜.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
What the graphs say 口麋
麋，鹿屬；讀為糜，煮米使爛
上爲口麋 — Suwen 37
2
The reading 口麋
麋通糜，讀 mí，口舌糜爛
上爲口麋 — Suwen 37
3
The direction 上爲口麋
熱在下而病見於上
鬲腸不便，上爲口麋 — Suwen 37
4
Obstruction below 鬲腸不便
腸鬲塞而大便不通
鬲腸不便 — Suwen 37
5
The 鬲 graph 鬲腸
，與「狂隔中」之隔 二形并存
鬲腸不便 — Suwen 37
6
Set against 下 上
與下文「濁涕下不止」之「下」相對
上爲口麋 — Suwen 37

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
Suwen 37 Suwen 37 · 氣厥論 Read in context →
膀胱移熱於小腸，鬲腸不便，上爲口麋。 膀胱移热于小肠，鬲肠不便，上为口麋。
Páng guāng yí rè yú xiǎo cháng, gé cháng bù biàn, shàng wéi kǒu mí.
When the bladder shifts heat into the small intestine, the intestine is obstructed and the bowels do not move, and above it becomes mouth rot.
**「膀胱移熱於小腸，鬲腸不便，上爲口麋」十六字，是熱移十變之第八變**。**「鬲腸」之鬲作「鬲」（「鬲」讀 gé）**——**與「傳爲鬲消」同形，與「狂隔中」之「隔」（「隔」讀 gé）異形**，**本篇鬲／隔二形三見，照錄并存**。**「便」「便」讀 biàn，「不便」者大便不通也，讀 biàn**——**與第三十六篇「數便」「小便」之便同讀**。**「麋」「麋」讀 mí，本篇惟此一見**——**「口麋」者，口舌糜爛也；「麋」通「糜」（「糜」讀 mí），讀 mí**；**底本作「麋」（鹿部），不作「糜」（米部），照錄其形而注其義**。**「上爲口麋」者，熱自下而上**：**腸鬲於下而口糜於上**——**此「上」字與下文「濁涕下不止」之「下」字相對**。**熱移十變自第六變以下皆在府**——**膀胱、小腸、大腸、胃、膽、腦，與前五變之五藏相對**。

Compounds built on this term

鬲腸不便
gé cháng bù biàn
the intestine obstructed, the bowels not moving
本篇之語，「便」讀 biàn
上爲
shàng wéi
above it becomes
本篇言病位上下之語，與「下不止」相對
糜
mí
rot, ulceration
「麋」之所通，底本不徑作「糜」
膀胱移熱於小腸
páng guāng yí rè yú xiǎo cháng
the bladder shifting heat into the small intestine
本篇熱移十變之第八變

How it has been translated

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

This sitemouth rotthe base text writes 麋 with the deer radical; the site keeps the graph and glosses it as 糜
Unschuld(kǒu mí) mouth rottransliterates and translates
Wiseman(kǒu mí) mouth rotthe same rendering

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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