Pulse Qualities

Front 1

Sensation: superficial, often forceless below

Indication: external wind patterns, qi/xue xu

Back 1

Floating
Fu

Front 2

Sensation: deep, near the bone, requires pressure to feel, only at organ depth, difficult to locate root, more damp than slippery

Indication: interior pattern/injury, yang xu, qi xu/zhi

Back 2

Deep/Sinking
Chen

Front 3

Sensation: below 60 bpm, 3 beats/breath

Indications: internal/yin/cold patterns, yang xu, obstruction of qi

Back 3

Slow
Chi

Front 4

Sensation: above 90 bpm, 6 beats/breath

Indications: yang/heat patterns (strong) yin xu (weak)

Back 4

Rapid
Shu

Front 5

Sensation: forceless, empty, vacuous, only at qi depth or above, lack of force, arrives slowly, superficial

Indication: qi/xue xu, deficiency patterns, Zang Fu xu

Back 5

Deficient
Xu

Front 6

Sensation: forceful, excessive, full, large, force rises above qi depth, forceful and excess on all 3 positions, often Hollow

Indication: excess patterns

Back 6

Excess
Shi

Front 7

Sensation: smooth, rolling, full, gooey, strongly directional, greaseball, like wet noodle, "like a plate of pearls"

Indication: phlegm/damp, food stagnation, pregnancy, abundance of qi and xue, excess heat

Back 7

Slippery/Rolling
Hua

Front 8

Sensation: rough, not smooth, slow, relaxed, stagnant, difficult, dry, like bamboo, uneven, hesitant

Indication: xue stasis, qi and xue xu, qi or jing xu if weak, qi or xue stasis if strong, fluid exhaustion

Back 8

Choppy/Hesitant
Se

Front 9

Sensation: tense, thin, long, tight, forceful, like a taught string, fine/sharp edge, superficial, felt by all three fingers with light pressure

Indications: qi stagnation, liver patterns, pain, phlegm, LV/GB disharmony, LV yin xu with yang shi, fluid retention, xue level heat

Back 9

Wiry/Bowstring
Xian

Front 10

Sensation: felt beyond the positional range, resilient, extended

Indication: excess heat, counterflow, qi stagnation

Back 10

Long
Chang

Front 11

Sensation: does not reach positional range, no continuity between positions

Indication: qi and/or xue xu

Back 11

Duan
Short

Front 12

Sensation: large, floating, strong, broad, full (forceful attack and weaker fade) "like rising and falling of a large wave"

Indications: excess heat patterns (w/xu below), full or empty heat, exhaustion of qi following illness, more rapid than Big (da)

Back 12

Flooding/Surging
Hong

Front 13

Sensation: weak, fine, soft, barely felt, at xue depth only: extremely fine and slack, feeble, fragmented, deep

Indications: extreme qi and xue xu, qi collapse, collapse of yang, separation of yin and yang

Back 13

Faint/Minute
Wei

Front 14

Sensation: tight, forceful, like string or rope, deep wiry pulse, tight and flat, ST qi compressed and tense, not a lot of volume

Indications: excess cold, pain, accumulation of food, food stagnation

Back 14

Tight
Jin

Front 15

Sensation: Moderate or relaxed pace, maybe slow, slightly forceless

Indication: SP qi xu, mild dampness

Back 15

Moderate/Relaxed
Huan

Front 16

Sensation: floating, soft, large body, empty center, often floating and large arrives softly, yang is present, but not attached to yin, more narrow

Indication: significant xue xu (ie blood loss)

Back 16

Hollow/Onion Stalk
Kou

Front 17

Sensation: floating, broad, tight, empty center similar to Kou(onion stalk) but not fine and soft and wiry, large but empty center

Indication: xue or jing xu, exterior excess wind

Back 17

Leathery/Drumskin
Ge

Front 18

Sensation: deep, hard, firm, large, strong, between deep/hidden, tense/long deep hard firm large and strong, shi pulse that's deep

Indication: shi cold patterns, stagnation, pain, excess

Back 18

Firm/Confined
Lao

Front 19

Sensation: floating, fine, weak, forceless, empty and yielding, lacks root (superficial thready)

Indication: qi and xue xu with dampness, yin or jing xu, damp with xu

Back 19

Soggy/Soft
Ru

Front 20

Sensation: deep, fine, forceless, small, barely palpable, comes and goes, lacks spirit, yielding

Indications: qi/xue xu, yang decay (xu), elderly (weak, xu)

Back 20

Weak
Ruo

Front 21

Sensation: large, floating, no root, fades, easily with light pressure, empty, only at qi depth, feeble

Indications: qi and xue exhaustion, KD qi xu, KD yang xu

Back 21

Scattered
San

Front 22

Sensation: thin, weak, soft, like a thread, narrower and weaker than normal, felt with heavy pressure like thread near bone, fine but distinct and clear, yielding

Indications: qi and xue xu, yin/xue xu (weak constitution), due to stress or over strain

Back 22

Thin/Thready/Fine
Xi

Front 23

Sensation: very deep, fine, hidden, beneath deep pressure, buried and unobvious, only felt with extreme pressure

Indications: yang, qi, xue xu, xue yu, severe xu, deep interior pattern

Back 23

Hidden
Fu

Front 24

Sensation: forceful, slippery, rapid, like a spinning bean

Indications: pain, shock, fright

Back 24

Moving/Stirring
Dong

Front 25

Sensation: rapid, irregularly irregular, rapid with irregular missed beats

Indications: heat patterns, stagnation of qi, xue, phlegm or food, fire or qi xu

Back 25

Skipping/Hasty/Abrupt
Cu

Front 26

Sensation: relaxed or slow, irregularly irregular, irregularly missed beats

Indications: stasis, obstruction, accumulation of qi, xue or/& phlegm, yin shi, qi shi, cold phlegm retention, xue in yu in HT, phlegm in PC

Back 26

Knotted//Bound
Jie

Front 27

Sensation: relaxed, regularly irregular, leisurely and weak, regularly misses beats

Indications: extreme qi and xue xu, severe yang/qi xu, wind and pain, extreme fright, wind, declining zang, pathological pulse

Back 27

Intermittent
Dai

Front 28

Sensation: very rapid >120bpm

Indications: qi exhaustion, separation of yin and yang

Back 28

Racing
Ji