The acid or fire element in the blood of the stomach may cause 

 ulcers, just as the acid or fire element in the blood causes pimples to ap- 

 pear on the face. Many physicians mislead their patients to believe that 

 the acidity is in the contents of the stomach. Therefore they advise the 

 patients to have the stomach's contents pumped out. Sometimes they 

 find in the contents too much acid or lack of acid. They do not tell the 

 patients how the fire element works in the blood of the stomach and its 

 adjacent organs. Sometimes they find a lack of acid, then they advise 

 the taking of acid or acid forming foods into the stomach. Following 

 the advice of these physicians usually is the cause of canker sores in the 

 mouth and pimples on the face. 



If either the stomach or the spleen is inflamed or weak, gas, pain, 

 vomiting, indigestion, biliousness, a grating sensation, an empty, an- 

 noying feeling, after each meal, cancers or ulcers may result. When 

 the stomach is merely weak, or is lacking in the fire element, the food 

 may lie there undigested and cause continuous pain until it is vomited. 

 This condition causes many people to fear that they have cancers 

 or ulcers. Frequently surgeons operate upon the stomachs of people 

 thus afflicted, but upon finding neither cancers nor ulcers, sew them up 

 again without discovering the cause of the pain. 



Weakness of the spleen of long standing causes protruding rectum 

 and bleeding after bowel movements, diarrhoea, dysentery, rupture, dis- 

 charge of mucus from the intestines, loss of appetite, displacement of the 



stomach, a tired feeling and 

 weakness of the limbs. Physic 

 tends to weaken the spleen 

 and causes constipation. If 

 the bowels fail to move, do 

 not be in haste to take physic 

 unless there is a high fever, 

 for it is likely that they will 

 move naturally the next day. 

 The Chinese people, with the 

 exception of a few opium 

 smokers, are seldom troubled 

 with constipation. 



Acute inflammation in the 

 stomach and spleen are the 

 The Stomach causes of hemorrhages, pim- 



40 



