Current Situation and Re-understanding of Syndrome and Formula Syndrome in Chinese Medicine

Abstract

The relationship between disease, syndrome and formula is thought to be one of the most significant problems in TCM clinical and basic practice. Syndrome is not only the core of TCM basic theory and syndrome differentiation, but also the bridge linking disease and formula, the essence of which is a classification according to subjective symptom and objective sign collected by physician through inspection, auscultation-olfaction, interrogation and palpation. In China, further researches on the standardization and clarifying essence of syndromes were carried out in recent decades. The research work mainly consists of diagnostic criteria, distribution, evolutional laws, and biological basis of syndrome. However, it is found out that syndrome is relatively generous, vague, uncertain and abstractive, which has brought great difficulties to the clinical and scientific research of syndrome standardization. Based on clinical practice for years, we learned the TCM literature of past dynasties systematically and excavated the TCM basic theory thoroughly. Consequently, we found that formula syndrome, reserved in TCM classics, is a special theory system in diagnosis and treatment, which is another bridge linking disease and formula in TCM. Syndrome and formula syndrome are closely related but completely different, which are the core of two characteristic inheritance veins respectively in TCM. Further researches on formula syndrome mainly includes: a) study on diagnostic criteria of formula syndrome; b) study on distribution rules of formula syndrome of certain disease; c) study on the change rules of herb syndrome on the basis of formula syndrome; d) study on combined prescription rules; e) study on dynamic evolution laws of formula syndrome. Carrying out the researches of formula syndrome of certain disease is beneficial to grasp the characteristics of formula syndrome and treatment rules of disease.