其治宜毒藥。故毒藥者，亦從西方來。
其治宜毒药。故毒药者，亦从西方来。
qí zhì yí dú yào. gù dú yào zhě, yì cóng xī fāng lái.
Their treatment is suited to potent drugs. Thus potent drugs too came from the west.
西方之民華食脂肥，邪不能傷其形體，病生於內，治宜毒藥。王冰：「能攻其病，則謂之毒藥…藥，謂草、木、蟲、魚、鳥獸之類，皆能除病者也。」張介賓：「毒藥者，總括藥餌而言，凡能除病者，皆可稱為毒藥。」按：古之「毒」謂藥性之偏，非今之毒物。
黄帝問曰：余聞古之治病，惟其移精變氣，可祝由而已。今世治病，毒藥治其内，鍼石治其外，或愈或不愈，何也？
黄帝问曰：余闻古之治病，惟其移精变气，可祝由而已。今世治病，毒药治其内，针石治其外，或愈或不愈，何也？
huáng dì wèn yuē: yú wén gǔ zhī zhì bìng, wéi qí yí jīng biàn qì, kě zhù yóu ér yǐ. jīn shì zhì bìng, dú yào zhì qí nèi, zhēn shí zhì qí wài, huò yù huò bù yù, hé yě?
The Yellow Emperor asks: I have heard that in antiquity they treated illness by nothing more than shifting the essence and changing the qi, and it could be settled with invocation. In the present age we treat illness with potent drugs on the inside and the needle and stone on the outside, and yet some are cured and some are not. Why is that?
本篇「毒藥治其內，鍼石治其外」與第十二篇「毒藥者，亦從西方來」同一詞而用法不同：第十二篇舉其方域之所出，本篇舉其「今世」之所以然——上古無假毒藥，今世不得不用。王冰：「能攻其病，則謂之毒藥。」拙工用之而病未已、新病復起，則非藥之過。
歧伯曰：當今之世，必齊毒藥攻其中，鑱石鍼艾治其外也。
岐伯曰：当今之世，必齐毒药攻其中，镵石针艾治其外也。
qí bó yuē: dāng jīn zhī shì, bì jì dú yào gōng qí zhōng, chán shí zhēn ài zhì qí wài yě.
Qibo says: in the present age one must compound potent drugs to attack within, and use the chán stone, the needle and moxa to treat without.
「必齊毒藥攻其中」：齊音 jì，通「劑」，和合配伍。王冰：「齊，和合也……能攻其病，則謂之毒藥。」與第十二篇「毒藥者，亦從西方來」同詞：第十二篇舉其所出之方域，本篇舉今世之所以不得不用——上古無假毒藥，中古服湯液而萬全，今世非毒藥鍼艾不可。
毒藥攻邪，五榖爲養，五果爲助，五畜爲益，五菜爲充，氣味合而服之，以𥙷精益氣。
毒药攻邪，五谷为养，五果为助，五畜为益，五菜为充，气味合而服之，以补精益气。
Dú yào gōng xié, wǔ gǔ wéi yǎng, wǔ guǒ wéi zhù, wǔ chù wéi yì, wǔ cài wéi chōng, qì wèi hé ér fú zhī, yǐ bǔ jīng yì qì.
The poison-drugs attack the evil; the five grains nourish; the five fruits assist; the five domestic animals add benefit; the five vegetables fill out. Take them with their qi and flavour in accord, thereby supplementing the essence and boosting the qi.
「毒藥攻邪，五榖爲養，五果爲助，五畜爲益，五菜爲充」：本篇毒藥之義，正在其分職——藥攻邪，食養正，二者不可相代。與第十二篇所載諸般療法（砭石、毒藥、灸爇、九鍼、導引按蹻）並列而論者同條而義別：第十二篇辨方域之所宜，本篇則辨藥食之所司。「毒」非有毒之謂，氣味偏駁者是；偏駁者能攻，中和者能養，故以五榖五果五畜五菜繼之。
形苦志苦，病生於咽嗌，治之以百藥。
形苦志苦，病生于咽嗌，治之以百药。
Xíng kǔ zhì kǔ, bìng shēng yú yān yì, zhì zhī yǐ bǎi yào.
Form embittered and will embittered: the disease arises in the throat; treat it with the hundred drugs.
「形苦志苦，病生於咽嗌，治之以百藥」：本篇毒藥之義，見於「百藥」二字：百者言其多，非實數，與第十二篇「毒藥」之以有毒無毒立名者異趣。與第十二篇「毒藥」條同條而義別：第十二篇以毒藥為西方之治，與砭石、灸爇、九鍼、導引按蹻各有所宜之地；本篇則不論方宜、不辨有毒無毒，止以「百藥」為病在咽嗌者之治——一以地異，一以位異。
一曰治神，二曰知養身，三曰知毒藥爲真，四曰制砭石小大，五曰知府藏血氣之診。五法俱立。各有所先。
一曰治神，二曰知养身，三曰知毒药为真，四曰制砭石小大，五曰知府藏血气之诊。五法俱立。各有所先。
Yī yuē zhì shén, èr yuē zhī yǎng shēn, sān yuē zhī dú yào wéi zhēn, sì yuē zhì biān shí xiǎo dà, wǔ yuē zhī fǔ zàng xuè qì zhī zhěn. Wǔ fǎ jù lì. Gè yǒu suǒ xiān.
First, to govern the spirit. Second, to know how to nourish the body. Third, to know the true from the false among potent drugs. Fourth, to regulate the size of the stone needle. Fifth, to know the examination of the depots, the viscera, the blood and the qi. The five methods are established all together, and each has what comes before it.
「三曰知毒藥爲真」：本篇毒藥之義，在「真」字——五法之一不是用藥，而是辨藥之真偽。與第十二篇以毒藥為西方之治、與砭石灸爇九鍼導引按蹻各有所宜之地者、第二十二篇「毒藥攻邪」之以毒藥與五榖五果五畜五菜並論者同條而義別：彼論毒藥之所宜之地、其與穀果肉菜之相配，本篇則論醫者當先辨其真偽而後可用。又本篇§4「毒藥無治」是另一義：壊府之時雖毒藥亦無所施，一辨其真，一歎其無所用，同篇而二義。「真」讀 zhēn。