1. The Main Contents of Chinese Medical Diagnosis

The four diagnostic methods, diagnosis of the disease, differentiation of the patterns, and case records can be classified as the main four parts of diagnosis in CM.

(1) Four diagnostic methods

These include inspection, listening (auscultation) and smelling (olfaction), inquiry(interrogation), pulse reading and palpation, which are the four procedures used in examining and collecting data about patients' health conditions (Fig. 1-1).

(2) Diagnosis of diseases

Aiming at determining the entity of the diseases, diagnosis of a disease can also be called differentiation of a disease. Since the name of the illness is the generalisation of the characteristics and patterns of a certain disease, diagnosis of a disease is the main content in the concepts of clinical medicine such as internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, paediatrics, etc.

Fig. 1-1　Brief comparison between the four diagnostic methods in CM

(3) Pattern differentiation

Pattern differentiation is the foundation of Chinese medicine. Firstly, distinguishing between several terms such as symptoms, patterns, and diseases is essential for the better understanding of the deeper meaning of pattern identification and differentiation(Fig. 1-2).

Many methods of pattern differentiation were developed during the long history of clinical practice, such as the eight-principle pattern differentiation, pattern differentiation according to etiology, qi-blood-body fluid pattern differentiation,zang-fu organ pattern differentiation, pattern differentiation according to the theory of six channels,wei (defense) -qi -ying (nutrient) - blood pattern differentiation,sanjiao (triple burner) pattern differentiation, channel and collaterals pattern differentiation. These methods can be utilised individually or in syncretism.

(4) The medical record (TMR)

Written records about diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice, called the "case record" in antiquity, should contain important data for clinical care, scientific research and teaching. Writing the case record is one of the basic skills required for all clinical practitioners. The practitioners should write down fully the details about the patients' conditions, history, diagnosis and treatment.