The lung and kidney

This association is mainly reflected in the movement of water and qi. Water metabolism is closely related to the functions of the lung and kidney. Dysfunction of the lung in dispersing and descending, or dysfunction of the kidney in evaporating water, may not only affect normal water metabolism, but also influence each other, leading to further and more serious disturbance of water metabolism, and giving rise to such manifestations as cough, shortness of breath, difficulty in lying flat and edema. In the sixty - first chapter of Plain Questions it said, " Therefore when water disease attacks, it will cause edema in the foot and enlarged abdomen in the lower part of the body, and asthma, with inability to lie flat, in the upper part of the body, due to simultaneous occurrence of both the primary and secondary conditions. "

The lung dominates respiration and the kidney dominates reception of qi. Only when the kidney is vigorous can the inhaled qi be sent downward through the lung and be received by the kidney. When kidney qi is deficient, and fails to receive qi, the qi will remain floating above. When prolonged deficiency of lung qi affects the kidney qi, there will be dysfunction of the kidney in reception of qi. Both of these conditions may give rise to shortness of breath, which is worse after movement.

The yin fluid of the lung and the kidney nourish each other, and kidney yin is the root of the yin fluid of the whole body. Deficiency of lung yin may injure kidney yin, and deficiency of kidney yin may fail to nourish lung yin. Either may lead to deficiency of yin of both the lung and kidney, resulting in such manifestations as malar flush, afternoon fever, night sweat, dry cough, hoarse voice and weakness and soreness of the lumbar region and knees