The Six Exogenous Factors
 Wind, cold, summer heat, damp, dryness and fire ( mild heat and heat ) are the six climatic changes found in nature. Under normal conditions, they do not produce pathological changes in the body and are thus known as the " six types of qi " ' in the natural environment. These six types of qi will only cause disease if either the climatic change is extreme or sudden, or if the body ' s resistance is low. When responsible for inducing disease, these six types of qi are known as " the six exogenous pathogenic factors. "
All the six pathogenic factors, when affecting the body, invade from the exterior via the skin, mouth or nose. For this reason, the pathological reactions they induce are known as " exogenous diseases. "
Diseases due to the six exogenous factors are closely related to seasonal changes in the weather and to living environment. For example, heat syndromes mostly occur in summer, cold syndromes in winter, and damp syndromes are usually caused by prolonged exposure to damp. Another term for these syndromes is " seasonal diseases. "
Each of the six exogenous pathogenic factors may affect the body singly or in combination. Examples are common cold due to pathogenic wind and cold, or hi syndromes due to pathogenic wind, cold and damp, etc. In the process of causing disease, the six exogenous factors may influence each other, and may also, under certain conditions, transform into each other. For example, pathogenic cold may transform into heat in the interior of the body, and prolonged summer heat may result in dryness by consuming the yin of the body, etc. The properties of the six exogenous factors and their specific pathological influences on the body are described as follows :
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