The Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis of a patient’s condition consists of three activities: an extensive interview, pulse diagnosis, and a tongue examination.  Not only are the patient’s complaints taken into consideration, the practitioner will ask questions about things such as quality of sleep, dreams, appetite, preferred foods, and stress.  The practitioner is also trained to use the senses of observation, listening, and smelling.  A veterinary practitioner of TCM feels for six pulses in each hind leg: three superficial and three deep at specific points along the femoral artery.  The twelve pulses correspond to the internal organs.  In addition to the pulse, the Chinese believe that the tongue is a barometer of health. They developed an elaborate system to describe the condition of the tongue, including the color, texture, shape, size, and coating.  All three diagnostic techniques provide useful information to the TCM practitioner regarding the nature of a patient’s condition.

Providing treatment based on these criteria allows for the clinical application of herbal medicines.  Every herbal medicine possesses a specific character and flavor of varying degrees. It is the combination of both that constitutes the overall action of the formula.  Herbs are combined into therapeutic formulas that are balanced according to the desired effect – and often have fun or interesting names.  For example, a horse with chronic liver disease might be treated with a formula called “Liver Happy”;  a dog with food intolerance and episodic vomiting and diarrhea would likely benefit from “Quiet Digestion”.  In some cases, the only treatment needed is properly-prescribed herbal medicine.  In other cases, herbs are combined with diet modification, acupuncture, Bio-resonance therapy and other modalities to restore health.

Western herbs and Amazon herbs are used in the same way.