change, the beginning and end of life and death. It is also said that yin is inside and is the core of yang. Yang is outside and is the messenger of yin. The basic rule of Chinese medicine says: "If yang recedes, yin increases, and if yin recedes, yang increases." The laws of yin - yang can also be applied to the structure and functions of the human body. Yin means the material components of the body, and yang means its functions. Yin and yang are not static, they are constantly changing, but at the same time they constantly complement each other. Physiological laws are also based on this, for example, the law of the emergence of organ functions (yang) due to the consumption of food (yin). Thus, the balance of yang and yin in the body as a result of metabolism is achieved in movement (nutrition), etc. Yin and yang can pass into each other, turn into their own opposite. This process characterizes not only quantitative changes, but also qualitative ones. The rule of transformation of yin and yang according to ancient Chinese medicine explains the change in the symptoms of diseases. Signs of yang can turn into signs of yin. The symptom of yang turns into a symptom of yin, when, for example, in acute infectious diseases, febrile conditions, if the body's resistance is completely exhausted, turn into a decrease in body temperature. The unity of yin - yang connects various parts of the body and human organs as both functionally and morphologically. But ancient Chinese sources also testify that the upper part of the human body is yang, and the lower part is yin. Also in topographical relations, the surface of the body refers to yang, the insides to yin. By the same principle, each internal organ is considered, each organ has its own yin and yang. Even a person himself, with the totality of his individual characteristics, can belong to the yin or yang type. True, the correspondence is not always complete. Most often, one or another, Yin or Yang, tendencies predominate in a person. The more yin, the less yang, and vice versa. The whole set of physiological processes is interdependent. The basics of the physiological functions of the body are the basis of the interaction of yin and yang. Therefore, the whole life of a person is inextricably linked with yin and yang. For example, the liquid in the human body is used up under the influence of external or internal factors, i.e., the liquid (yin) becomes less, and a state of emptiness and heat (yang) arises. Chronic diseases from the position Chinese medicine is explained by the general devastation of the body, the simultaneous weakening of both sides of life (yin and yang). Yin and yang in this case are in a state of emptiness. The result of this approach is the division, classification of all diseases, pathological processes and disease states into two main large groups - yang symptoms and yin symptoms. The balance of yin - yang can be considered as a phenomenon of homeo-stasis. Ensuring harmony, restoring disturbed balance (homeostasis), maintaining the body's defenses and reactivity is the main goal of treatment in oriental medicine. And this, it should be noted, is fully consistent with the European theory of maintaining homeostasis and homeokinesis. Modern medicine offers, as you know, an integrative approach to the human body, i.e., consideration of particular phenomena of the human body in the context of the whole organism. This is exactly the approach that the ancient Chinese concept of yin-yang suggests. A Chinese doctor does not consider the disease of a single organ or even an organ system - for him, these are problems throughout the body. Chinese doctors distinguish four main types of such disorders: 1) excess of yang with a shortage of yin; 2) lack of yang with an excess of yin; yin at the same time; 4) lack of yang and yin at the same time. Moreover, the same person in some organs may have an excess of yin or yang, entailing corresponding diseases, pathological processes, and in others - a deficiency, also manifested in the form of diseases. Cure a person can only be restored by restoring the lost balance, and this can be done by adding or removing yang or yin. In addition, it is important to note that there is no such phenomenon in which there would be absolute yin or absolute yang. In every phenomenon, both are necessarily present. A person is a combination of two principles, their close interweaving and interaction, from which all the features of life, physiology, character, all talents and inclinations, strength and weakness flow. All Chinese medicine, both scientific and practical, all the disciplines that it includes: pathology, anatomy, physiology, clinical diagnosis and treatment - everything is subject to this multifaceted model, which is also called the principle of harmony and balance. This principle is especially important in preventive medicine, as it allows predicting and preventing many diseases. Diagnosis of diseases in Chinese traditional medicine is based on six guidelines that cover all typical pathological processes in the human body. These principles are: surface (biao) and inner part (yui), cold (han) and heat (zhe), emptiness (hu) and fullness (shi). The surface, heat and fullness are manifestations of yang, the inner part, cold and emptiness are yin. Inspection, listening, questioning and palpation are traditional techniques used in modern European medicine. At the same time, these are the four main methods of diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine. For a Chinese doctor, these techniques provide all the necessary information about the patient. This information is further summarized based on the same eight guiding principles. The basic rule of ancient Chinese therapy is “in diseases, yang should be used to treat yin, and in diseases, yin should be used to treat yang.”"," it is necessary to strengthen the dominance of water in order to suppress the advantages of yang. It is necessary to improve the source of fire in order to eliminate its suppression by yin. The diagnosis of a Chinese doctor may sound rather strange: “kidney yin is empty” or “liver yang rises up”. But this diagnosis contains the very essence of the treatment, it will accordingly be aimed at supplementing the yin of the kidneys or at reducing the yang of the liver, i.e. the meaning of the treatment is to balance the yin and yang, and the form of the therapeutic effect is already in the diagnosis itself. An individual approach is important feature of Chinese medicine, it has been preserved to this day, which is important. If a weak person who feels constant fatigue suddenly falls ill with a cold, then treating the patient after eliminating the symptoms in Chinese medicine is aimed at eliminating the predisposition to colds diseases. In ancient Chinese medicine, there were a number of principles according to which treatment was carried out. In addition, the principle “treatment should come from the opposite” was of great importance. This principle was consistent with the concept of yin - yang. In case of yang disease (fullness) it was supposed to influence the body calmingly, in case of yin disease (emptiness), it was exciting. This can be translated into Russian as "add - take away." “Bu” means: to replenish, excite, tone up, and “se” means to release, slow down, sedate, dissipate. have a stimulating effect. When a pathology is accompanied by an increased function (excess energy in the meridian), the action “ce” is necessary, which means to take away energy, to have an inhibitory effect. In scientific medicine, these processes are referred to as excitation and inhibition. Whatever method of treatment is used, it always corresponds to these basic principles.At the heart of any life activity is energy. An organism is an energetically open system that constantly exchanges energy with the external environment. The functioning of the body is closely related to the energy coming from outside. Energy can be represented as a stream of charged particles. There are constant interactions between the body and the external environment, between individual organs and systems of the body, there is a constant energy exchange. From the point of view of ancient Chinese medicine, this is possible due to the existence of energy channels in the body, through which exchange is possible. The entire body can be divided into 12 successively arranged meridians, or channels (jinglo), united in a single structure. These meridians are paired, they are symmetrically oriented relative to the plane that divides the body into right and left halves. One of these branches is functionally more active. The meridians passing through the entire body include the posterior and anterior median meridians. In addition, each channel-meridian corresponds to a specific organ or system of the body. Exist meridians of all individual organs: lungs, stomach, heart, kidneys, etc. The energy that enters the body from the outside circulates in a large circle. Within 24 hours it passes through all organs. The sequence of this circulation is strictly defined: it starts from the meridian of the lungs, then passes to the meridian of the large intestine, stomach, spleen, pancreas, heart, small intestine, bladder, kidneys, pericardium, three parts of the body, gallbladder, liver. Having done a full circle in 24 hours, the energy returns to the meridian of the lungs. The presence of biologically active points (BAP) in the human body is known. They are located on energy channels. These points run strictly along the lines that stretch from the head to the tips of the fingers and toes. Energy channels are laid from point to point.