PATHOGENESIS IN THE BIOCHARACTERISTICS THEORY OF MEDICINEPathogenesis is the study of the development of disease - causes and effects. The ongoing study and contemplation of pathogenesis is the most important aspect of biocharacteristics medicine. Once the clinician can demonstrate the chain of cause and effect, each step in the flowchart will reveal an opportunity for intervention.
Accurate formulation of pathogenesis helps the herbalist pinpoint the one herb among many that has the correct biocharacteristics (energetics). Disease begins in a site of origin where biocharacteristics accumulate due to exogenous factors (diet, lifestyle, environment, events). The disordered biocharacteristics then travel through various channels or pathways, and cause other biocharacteristics to become imbalanced. If these biocharacteristics overwhelm the body defenses in a particular location, the disordered biocharacteristics will become manifest and symptoms will appear. SyndromesIn Biocharacteristics medicine, the pathogenesis or development of disease is described as a complex of syndromes - how one syndrome affects another in a cause-effect relationship.Definition: Syndrome: A group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterize a disease, psychological disorder, or other abnormal condition. A complex of symptoms indicating the existence of an undesirable condition or quality. Example: Heat in the Liver (yellow coating on the tongue, irritable) In western medical style pathogenesis, diseases are analyzed biochemically. In Biocharacteristics medicine, syndromes are analyzed, rather than specific diseases. These syndromes aren't labeled biochemically, but biocharacteristically as in "Heat in the Liver (Yellow Tongue)" or "Dryness in the Digestive Tract (Pancreatic Insufficiency)" Each syndrome is a statement in the form Biocharacteristic in Location (Evidence1, Evidence 2, Evidence 3, ...).
Locations - Locations may include diet, lifestyle, mind, tissue, organ, organ/organ systems, pathway or waste product. In Ayurveda, this would include, for example, dhatu, upadhatu, srotamsi, marga, or mala. After the in location part of the syndrome you can add other circumstances such time or direction (upward moving, downward moving, etc). For example, instead of dryness in the skin, one could add dryness moving upwards in the skin, etc. Each biocharacteristic can also be a taste, element, or constitution. Evidence - Evidence will always be an observable sign or symptom of the syndrome. Examples may include yellow coating on the tongue, inflamed colon, or headache. To kep flowcharts succicnt, only put (evidence) the first time a syndrome is mentioned in a flowchart. By convention, every word of the evidence is in lower case while the first letter of each word in the syndrome is capitalized. Pathogenesis FlowchartsA pathogenesis flowchart is a flowchart showing the progression of cause & effect of each syndrome. A pathogenesis flowchart allows you to trace current disorders back to their root cause, so you can find the site of origin. In biocharacteristics every client's pathogenesis is unique, even those who have the same symptoms.
Here is an example:
Root Cause - The root causes is itself a syndrome, typically in the diet, lifestyle, or mind. An example is Heavy in Diet (daily ice-cream). Frequently, the root cause includes syndromes in the body as well. For example, Heat in the Liver (yellow coating on the tongue) may itself be a root cause of a pathogenesis. A root cause is not always known and is therefore not required. Branching - It is typical to break the Flowchart into multiple lines or "branches" so that your flowchart looks more like a "tree" than a line. Disease development is rarely linear. This will also make your flowchart more straight forward and less confusing as your progress from step to step. Multiple Effects - When a syndrome has multiple causes/effects (caused by/ causes multiple other syndromes), separate the causes/effects by a comma. The "," is a synonym for the word 'and'. In the example below, a Damp Diet causes Toxins in Plasma AND Sour in Colon. Example:
Arrow Symbol (=>) - The arrow symbol means causes. It should separate any two syndromes affecting each other. A degree may be added to the arrow specifying the cause as Fast/Slow or Strong/Weak. For example =>Fast, or =>Strong. Common Mistakes in Drafting Pathogenesis Flowcharts READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC
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