Pulse Diagnosis

Pulse Assessment Positions

Depth:

Floating pulse 浮脈

a superficially located pulse which can be felt by light touch and grows faint on hard pressure

Sunken pulse 沈脈

a deeply located pulse which can only be felt when pressing hard, also called deep pulse

Hidden pulse 伏脈

a pulse which can only be felt upon pressing to the bone, located deeper than sunken pulse or even totally hidden

 

Speed:

Slow pulse 遲脈

a pulse with less than four beats to one cycle of the physician’s respiration (<60 BPM), the same as bradycardia

Rapid pulse 數脈

a pulse with more than five or six beats to one cycle of the physician’s respiration (>90 BPM), the same as tachycardia

Moderate pulse 緩脈

a pulse with four beats to one cycle of the physician’s respiration, even and harmonious in its form (about 65 BPM)

Racing pulse 疾脈

a pulse having more than seven beats per respiration (>110 BPM)

 

Strength:

Vacuous pulse 虛脈

a general term for a feeble and void pulse

Replete pulse 實脈

a general term for a pulse felt forceful at all the three sections, cun/inch, guan/bar and chi/cubit, also called forceful pulse

 

Size:

Surging pulse 洪脈

a pulse beating like dashing waves with forceful rising and gradual decline, also called flooding pulse

Fine pulse 細脈

a pulse as thin as a silk thread, straight and soft, feeble yet always perceptible upon hard pressure, also called thin/thready pulse

Large pulse 大脈

a broad pulse with a bigger amplitude than normal

 

Tension

String-like pulse 弦脈

a straight, long and taut pulse, like a musical string to the touch

Tight pulse 緊脈

a pulse feeling like a tightly stretched cord

Relaxed pulse 緩脈

a pulse with decreased tension

Soft pulse 軟脈

a pulse felt softer than normal

 

Length:

Long pulse 長脈

a pulse with beats of long duration, exceeding cun/ inch, guan/bar and chi/cubit sections

Short pulse 短脈

a pulse with beats of short duration, only felt at guan/bar section

 

Flow:

Slippery pulse 滑脈

a pulse coming and going smoothly like beads rolling on a plate

Rough pulse 澁脈

a pulse coming and going unsmoothly with small, fine, slow joggling tempo like scraping bamboo with a knife

 

Rhythm

Intermittent pulse 代脈

a moderate weak pulse, pausing at regular intervals

Bound pulse 結脈

a moderate weak pulse, pausing at irregular intervals

Skipping pulse 促脈

a rapid pulse with irregular intermittence

 

Combination Pulses:

Soggy pulse 濡脈

a thin and floating pulse which can be felt on light pressure, but growing faint upon hard pressure

Faint pulse 微脈

a thready and soft pulse, scarcely perceptible

Weak pulse 弱脈

a pulse that is deep, soft, thin and forceless

Dissipated pulse 散脈

a pulse that feels diffusing and feeble upon a light touch and faint upon hard pressure

Hollow pulse

a floating, large, soft, and hollow pulse

Drum skin pulse 革脈

a pulse felt hard and hollow as if touching the surface of a drum

Firm pulse 牢脈

a broad, forceful and taut pulse, deeply seated and felt only by hard pressure

Stirred pulse 動脈

a quick, jerky pulse, like a bouncing pea, slippery, rapid and forceful

 

Terminologies and definitions used in this section are adopted from the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific Region, 2009