Zangfu

The zangfu (simplified Chinese: 脏腑; traditional Chinese: 臟腑; pinyin: zàngfǔ) organs are functional entities stipulated by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). These classifications are based on east Asian cosmological observations rather than bio medical definitions that are used in Western evidence based medical models. In TCM theory they represent the energetic representation of the internal organs rather than the anatomical viscera that is referred to in Western medicine.

Each zang is paired with a fu, and each pair is assigned to one of the wuxing. The zangfu are also connected to the twelve standard meridians – each yang meridian is attached to a fu organ and each yin meridian is attached to a zang. They are five systems of Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney.

To highlight the fact that the zangfu are not equivalent to the anatomical organs, their names are often capitalized.