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Latin
Name
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Moschus
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Chinese
Name
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picture
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Origin
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Medicinal
musk is the dried secretion obtained from the male musk gland,
traditionally called fragrant sac between the umbilical cord
and the testicle of Moschus moschiferus Linnaeus, Moschus
sifanicus Przewalski, or Moschus moschiferus Linaeus, Cervidae.
After capturing a wild musk deer, cut the musk fragrant sac
off the body, dry it in the shade. Dried fragrant sac is habitually
called "hair sac musk", open the sac, appears "the musk kernel".
The musk kernel can be directly obtained from the musk fragrant
sac of the domestic musk deer and dried in the shade or in
and air-tight desiccator.
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Distribution
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It
is mainly produced in Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan, less commonly
produced in Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner
Mongolia, and the Northeastern provinces.
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Nature
and Affinity
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It is pungent in taste and warm in nature. Its therapeutical
action is related to the Channels of Heart and Spleen.
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Caution
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not prescribe it to the pregnant women. |
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CHARACTERISTICS |
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Hair
sac musk
It is an oblate or elliptical cystid, 3-7cm in diameter, and
2-4cm in thickness. On the side where opening of the sac is
situated are the cortices which are brown in colour and smooth
to some extent with dense white or grayish-brown short hair
arranged around the opening. On the other side are purplish-brown
membranes of layers, which are slightly wrinkled and resilient,
occasionally muscular fibres are found. After the sac is brown
or grayish-brown in colour and translucent; the inner layer
is brown in colour, within the inner layer, musk kernels of
granular or powder form, small amount of vellus hair and scaled
pieces of inner membranes are contained. The scaled pieces of
inner layer of membrane is customarily called "silver scales".
Musk kernels
The musk kernels which are taken from wild musk are soft in
texture, lubricious and loose. The granular kernel is habitually
called "dang men zi", which is irregularly spherical or granular
in shape. The surface, with few spotted wrinkles, is purplish-black,
lubricious and luminous. The cross section is darkish-brown
or yellowish-brown. The kernels taken from domestic musk are
granular, short rod-like and irregular spherical in shape. The
surface is rough, purplish-black or dark brown, greasy and slightly
lustrous. Small amount of hair and scaled pieces of inner membranes
are sometimes mixed in the kernels. The fragrance is strong
and peculiar, the taste is slightly hot, bitter and salty. |
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ACTIONS
AND INDICATIONS |
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1.Inducing
resuscitation and restoring consciousness.
It is used for coma and spasm in the course of febrile diseases,
apoplexy, phlegm syncope, syncope resulting from disorder of
qi, and other consciousness loss syndromes of excess type.
2.Promoting blood circulation to relieve swelling.
It is efficacious in the treatment of traumatic injury, accumulation
of blood stasis, general pains, sore throat, carbuncles and
boils.
3.Restoring menstrual flow and removing obstruction in the channels.
It is efficacious in the treatment of mass in the abdomen, amenorrhea,
retention of dead fetus or placenta, etc. |
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ADMINISTRATION
AND DOSAGE |
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Usually
made into pills or powder, not made into decoction, 0.03-0.1
gram daily. It may be externally used, accordingly. |
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REMARKS |
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Pregnant
women should not be exposed to he drug, for it may induce miscarriage. |
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