Observation of the Vitality

Vitality is the general manifestation of the vital activities of the human body, and the outward sign of relative strength of qi and blood of the zang - fu organs, which take essential qi as the basis. By observing vitality, one may get a rough idea of the strength of the antipathogenic qi of the human body and severity of the disease ; this is highly significant for the prognosis.

If the patient is fully conscious and in fairly good spirits, responds keenly with a sparkle in the eyes, the patient is vigorous and the disease is mild. If the patient is spiritless with dull eyes and sluggish response or even mental disturbance, the patient lacks vigor and the disease is severe.