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Latin
Name
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Carapax
Trionycis
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Chinese
Name
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Picture
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Origin
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It
is the dried carapace of Trionyx sinensis Wiegmann, Trionychidae.
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Distribution
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It
is mainly produced in Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hebei, Henan
and Hunan provinces.
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Nature
and Affinity
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The
drug is salty in taste, and slightly cold in nature. Its therapeutic
action is related to the channels of the liver and kidney.
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Caution
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with weakness and cold of the spleen and stomach or with poor
appetite and loose bowels, and pregnant women should abstain
from using it. |
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CHARACTERISTICS |
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Elliptical
or oval in shape, the shell is usually 10-15cm long and 9-14cm
wide with bulge on the dorsum. The outer surface is blackish-brown
or dark green in colour. It has a faint luster, with fine reticular
furrows and grayish-yellow or grayish-white spots. The outer
surface also has a vertical ridge in the middle and 8 symmetrical
transverse concave veins on both sides repectively. Sawtooth-shaped
seams can be seen after the outer skin has been peeled off.
The inner surface is whitish in colour with protruding vertebras
lying in the middle. The cervical bines are rolled inwardly.
There are 8 ribs on each side, stretching beyond the edge. The
whole shell is solid and hard in texture and has a weak fishy
odor and an insipid taste. |
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ACTIONS
AND INDICATIONS |
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1.Nourishing
yin and suppressing hyperactive yang, reducing fever and removing
hectic fever due to yin-deficiency.
It
is used for the treatment of consumption of yin caused by
febrile diseases, stirring up of endopathic wind of deficiency
type, hectic fever due to yin-deficiency, tidal fever and
night sweat.
2.Resolving
hard lumps.
It
is used for the treatment of chronic malaria, malaria with
splenomegaly, amenorrhea, and mass in the abdomen. Steamed
fresh-water turtle shell is more efficacious in nourishing
yin and suppressing hyperactive yang, while vinegared fresh-water
turtle shell is more efficacious in resolving hard lumps.
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ADMINISTRATION
AND DOSAGE |
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9-24
grams daily for decoction. |
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REMARKS |
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Decoct the shell first when the shell is used together with
other material medical. |
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