Objective

2

To explore the objective characteristics of cold and heat state of the healthy female in Lingnan based on thermal tomography imaging， and to discuss the feasibility and scientificity of using thermal tomography imaging to differentiate the state in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）.

Methods

2

Infrared thermal imaging data was collected from 453 healthy female volunteers in Lingnan. The trunk above the diaphragm is the upper part， while the trunk below the navel is the lower part； the area between the two is the central part. The volunteers were grouped according to the difference in calorific value between the upper part， the lower part and the front part of the trunk. If a person had higher calorific value of the upper part than that of the front part， and higher calorific value of the lower part than that of the front part， he/she was classified into the upper heat group. If the calorific value of the lower part was less than that of the front part and the upper pant also was less than that of the front pant， it was the lower cold group. When the calorific value of the upper part was highest， followed by that of the front part and lower part， it was classified as the upper heat and lower cold group. In the normal group， the order was lower part， front part and upper part as to the calorific value from high to low. There were 69 volunteers in the upper heat group， 52 volunteers in the lower cold group， 225 volunteers in the the upper heat and lower cold group， and 107 volunteers in the normal group. The differences in the calorific value of the local area of the trunk， meridians and acupoints were detected by infrared thermal imaging among different groups.

Results

2

In the upper heat group， the caloric values of the central part， upper abdomen area， epigastric area， left rib area， right rib area，

zhongwan

（RN 12） acupoint， and

qihai

（RN 6） acupoint were lower than in the normal group （

P

＜0.001）. Compared to those in the normal group， the caloric values of the lower part， left lesser abdomen， right lesser abdomen， and

guanyuan

（RN 4） acupoint were lower， while that of the epigastric area was higher in the lower cold group （

P

＜0.001）. The upper heat and lower cold group had significantly lower caloric values of the central part， lower part， upper abdomen area， lower abdomen， left lesser abdomen， right lesser abdomen，

ren mai

（任脉），

yaoyangguan

（DU 3）， right

shenshu

（BL 23），

guanyuan

（RN 4），

shenque

（RN 8）， and

qihai

（RN 6） than the normal group （

P

＜0.001）. The lower cold group had higher caloric va-lues of the central part， epigastric area， left rib area， right lib area and

zhongwan

（RN 12） than the upper heat group （

P

＜0.001）. The upper heat and lower cold group had lower caloric values of lower part， lower abdomen area， left lesser abdomen area， right lesser abdomen area， guanyuan （RN 4） and qihai （RN 6） than the upper heat group （

P

＜0.001）. Compared to those in the lower cold group， the caloric values of the central part， lower part， upper abdomen area， lower abdomen area，

ren mai

（任脉）， epigastric area， left rib area， right rib area，

zhongwan

（RN 12），

guanyuan

（RN 4），

shenque

（RN 8） and

qihai

（RN 6） were significantly lower in the upper heat and lower cold group （

P

＜0.001）.

Conclusion

2

The most common cold-heat state of the healthy female in

Lingnan

is upper heat and lower cold， and the regional calorific values of the groups with different cold-heat states are varied. Infrared thermal imaging can reflect the thermal differences in certain body parts and acupoints among the healthy population with different cold-heat states， which can be an important tool for distinguishing the TCM states， and provide references for clinical practice.