Finally, women should take care not to catch cold after sexual activity and also to avoid sex
during the periods: both these activities lead to stasis of Blood in the lower abdomen.
Western Differentiation
Masses which are sufficiently large or sufficiently close to the abdominal wall cause increased
resistance to palpation. Obviously, only Blood masses may correspond to actual abdominal
masses from the point of view of Western medicine. Qi masses, by their very nature, are not
actual, physical masses.
From a Western diagnostic perspective, it is very important to establish whether a mass is in the
abdominal wall or the abdominal cavity. This distinction can be easily made with a simple test.
With the patient supine, ask him or her to raise the head in order to tense the abdominal muscles.
If the mass is in the abdominal cavity, it will be shielded by the tensed muscles and will cease to
be palpable. If the mass is in the abdominal wall it will still be felt through the tensed abdominal
muscles.
The most common types of masses are summarized in Figure 17.1(397).
The term "diarrhoea" is defined as the passage of semi-formed or watery stools which are
usually, but not always, passed more frequently than normal. In Chinese, the word "diarrhoea"
(Xie-xie) is composed of two characters, both of which have the sound xie, one meaning "loose
stools", the other "stools like water".
Acute seasonal diarrhoea is more frequent during summer and autumn.