The Large, Big Pulse (Da Mai)

Large Pulse (Big, ?? Da Mai)

key point: wide

Indications: (forceful) excess heat: heat causes blood and qi to move http://www.eta-i.org/valium.html more quickly and dilates blood vessels.

(Forceless): qi deficiency softens the structural integrity of the vessel.

Explanation: the large pulse is simply wide. As anybody who has ever baked a balloon in an oven will attest, heat causes things to expand… just before they pop and make an ugly smelly mess. However, the pulse is no where near exploding, it’s just stretching out a bit due to heat that causes the blood to move more quickly and forcefully, dilating the vessels.

However, should the pulse also be forceless, this is a different mechanism entirely. When a pulse becomes deficient, the vessel’s structural integrity can also become weak. Much like a stretched out elastic band in your favorite underwear will get wider when it is old, so it is that a deficiency of qi can cause the pulse to get wide, though forceless at the same time.