Hi Kerry! Hope your year is off to an excellent start, and am looking forward to meeting you! So my question is regarding question 7 below: 7. An elderly gentleman comes in for a consultation with you. In performing tongue evaluation, you notice he has a short crack down the center of his tongue. The crack does not reach the tip of the tongue. Which of the following three possibilities could the center crack indicate? Liver and gallbladder deficiency Stomach qi deficiency Stomach fire I answered "stomach fire" as the possible indication in that stomach fire could have led to a stomach yin deficiency (by drying up fluids), and I believe this choice may be the more appropriate answer to this question after doing further research. After I received the grade, I went through the slides on 1/26's Intro to TCM IV, and spotted on slide 15 where Andrew provides a visual of a stomach qi deficiency tongue with the notation "short crack in center of tongue." When I looked online afterwards, I didn't come across a source visually depicting a short crack in the center of the tongue for stomach qi deficiency, but I did find more than one for stomach yin deficiency. Below are just a couple references to support my point: 1) In Maciocia's e-book "Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide." (specifically pages 232-233 in the Tongue-Body Shape chapter you'll find here: https://books.google.com/books?id=UfqxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA232&lpg=PA232&dq=%22stomach+yin+deficiency%22+%22short+crack%22&source=bl&ots=0IQUkC6_VR&sig=ACfU3U29MJU94O4KvM4aPWzZwTP30pKdkw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBm7K2weXuAhVaTDABHX9JBakQ6AEwBnoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=%22stomach%20yin%20deficiency%22%20%22short%20crack%22&f=false). On page 232, you'll see in the third paragraph under the section "8. Cracked," he states "A central short crack in the middle of the tongue is very common and indicates Stomach-Yin deficiency or the tendency to it." On the next page, you'll find Fig. 25.11 with the visual depiction of a short crack in the center of a tongue that matches the one depicted on 1/26's slide #15. I had a couple of pictures of these pages that I attached in the email I had originally sent to Eileen, so do let me know if the link above doesn't show up properly and I'll be happy to email them to you. 2) The following source was published by the Medical Acupuncture Journal with a couple of acupuncturists on the team of authors, and states the very same as Maciocia: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3929461/#:~:text=A%20central%20short%20crack%20in,or%20during%20a%20serious%20illness. "A central short crack in the middle of the tongue often indicates stomach Yin Deficiency (Fig. 2), ..." Fig. 2 provides the visual depiction. Kindly let me know your thoughts & whether it would be possible to be credited back for the point I lost or not. Thank you! Michael Yahudaii

Hi Michael I also look forward to meeting everyone Stomach fire was not listed as an option to that question, fire would refer to redness . You must have chosen something else i think you mean Spleen Qi but that is more about fluids transformation and transportation not cracks. If you look on your TCM IV handout from Andrew, he lists Stomach Qi deficiency as a center crack, he drew a picture. The center line is about the stomach area. Yes Stomach yin deficiency would also have be a possibility for cracks but it was not listed on his paperwork as an option for that question I would suggest it is not a good practice to go on line to research for answers. You will come up with many conflicting views this applies to TCM and also herbalist have very different views on herbs. Focus on the material that the instructors in the class, all questions are covered in their material best wishes Kerry