Confined Pulse / Lao Mai
Updated 2026-08-03
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Lao Mai, the confined pulse, is one of the classical pulse images in traditional Chinese medicine. It is deep, substantial under heavy pressure, large, taut, and long, so it is felt only on deep pressure but is then strong and stretched. It indicates internal excess: cold congealed in the interior, hernia, or fixed abdominal masses. The constraint is that it must be distinguished from Ge Mai, the drumskin pulse, which is superficial and hollow and signals deficiency, since the two look similar but call for opposite treatment.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Deep Pressure Read: apply real pressure before concluding that nothing is there. - Entrenched Mass: treat tautness deep down as evidence of a consolidated, long-standing problem. - Pulse Contrast: separate a deep solid finding from a superficial empty one before treating.
Anchor fast decisions
A mass that has formed in the interior sits far from the surface, so light pressure misses it while heavy pressure meets it directly. Because the tissue is bound by cold and stagnation, the vessel resists and feels taut and long. The pattern is therefore detected only by the combination of depth and resistance, which is why superficial palpation reports nothing.
MINIMUM ACTION
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- kepuchina.cnhttps://www.kepuchina.cn/article/articleinfo?business_type=100&ar_id=308380verified
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