Clinical terminology · plain language
Acupuncture and TCM clinical glossary.
Plain-English definitions of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine terms used in professional documentation.
This glossary defines core terms as ASKLEMER uses them in a professional documentation context. Definitions are educational and do not provide patient-specific medical advice.
| Concept | Standard term | Plain-English role |
|---|---|---|
| Acupoint | acupoint | A defined location used in acupuncture practice and selected within a broader clinical rationale. |
| Channel / Meridian | channel system | The channel system used to organize relationships among points, functions, and clinical signs. “Meridian” is a common English rendering; the literal term for longitude is not the correct clinical term. |
| Pattern differentiation | pattern differentiation | The process of organizing findings into a Chinese-medicine pattern that guides treatment principle and point selection. |
| Treatment principle | treatment principle | The strategic clinical direction derived from the pattern—for example, what to support, regulate, clear, or harmonize. |
| Zang-Fu | Zang-Fu | A Chinese-medicine framework for functional relationships among organ systems; it is not identical to Western anatomical organ definitions. |
| Eight Principles | Eight Principles | A foundational set of paired lenses—interior/exterior, cold/heat, deficiency/excess, and yin/yang—used to characterize a pattern. |
| Five Phases | Five Phases | A relational framework of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, used selectively in Chinese-medicine theory and clinical reasoning. |
| Root / Branch | root and branch | A distinction between an underlying pattern or cause (root) and its more immediate manifestation (branch). |
| Point formula / prescription | point selection / prescription | The selected combination of acupoints, including how points are paired to carry out the treatment principle. |
| Pulse / Tongue | pulse and tongue | Observational findings used with history and other signs during pattern differentiation. |
| De-qi | de-qi | A needling response described in acupuncture practice; its interpretation and relevance belong to the treating practitioner. |
| Qi / Blood | qi and blood | Core Chinese-medicine concepts used to describe functional activity, nourishment, circulation, and related patterns. |
Why terminology matters in clinical AI.
Words such as “pattern,” “channel,” and “organ” can mean different things across Chinese and Western medicine. ASKLEMER is being designed to preserve the intended clinical frame, label uncertainty, and keep the practitioner responsible for interpretation.