Pathogenesis is the study of the development of disease - causes and effects. The ongoing study and contemplation of pathogenesis is the most important aspect of biocharacteristics medicine. Once the clinician can demonstrate the chain of cause and effect, each step in the flowchart will reveal an opportunity for intervention.

Accurate formulation of pathogenesis helps the herbalist pinpoint the one herb among many that has the correct biocharacteristics (energetics).

Disease begins in a site of origin where biocharacteristics accumulate due to exogenous factors (diet, lifestyle, environment, events). The disordered biocharacteristics then travel through various channels or pathways, and cause other biocharacteristics to become imbalanced. If these biocharacteristics overwhelm the body defenses in a particular location, the disordered biocharacteristics will become manifest and symptoms will appear.

Syndromes

In Biocharacteristics medicine, the pathogenesis or development of disease is described as a complex of syndromes - how one syndrome affects another in a cause-effect relationship.

Definition: Syndrome: A group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterize a disease, psychological disorder, or other abnormal condition. A complex of symptoms indicating the existence of an undesirable condition or quality. Example: Heat in the Liver (yellow coating on the tongue, irritable)

In western medical style pathogenesis, diseases are analyzed biochemically. In Biocharacteristics medicine, syndromes are analyzed, rather than specific diseases. These syndromes aren't labeled biochemically, but biocharacteristically as in "Heat in the Liver (Yellow Tongue)" or "Dryness in the Digestive Tract (Pancreatic Insufficiency)"

Each syndrome is a statement in the form Biocharacteristic in Location (Evidence1, Evidence 2, Evidence 3, ...).

• See the complete list of biocharacteristics & locations.

Biocharacteristic - Describes the nature of the disorder, preferably using the common terms listed above.

Location - Generally put the most specific term for location (from the list above) for the group of symptoms you wish to unite under some common imbalance. Example:

• Hot in Sinus (common cold) - Sinus is a specific location here
• Hot in Lung (H flu infection) - Lung is a specific location here
• Combined - Hot in Respiratory (common cold, H flu infection) - respiratory includes both Lung & Sinus.

Evidence - Evidence will always be an observable sign or symptom of the syndrome. Examples may include yellow coating on the tongue, inflamed colon, or headache. Observable phenomena can include the results of medical tests as well. To keep flowcharts succinct, only put (evidence) the first time a syndrome is mentioned in a flowchart.

By convention, every word of the evidence is in lower case while the first letter of each word in the syndrome is capitalized.

Pathogenesis Flowcharts

A pathogenesis flowchart is a flowchart showing the progression of cause & effect of each syndrome. A pathogenesis flowchart allows you to trace current disorders back to their root cause, so you can find the site of origin. In biocharacteristics every client's pathogenesis is unique, even those who have the same symptoms.

• 1st progression: Root Cause 1 => Syndrome 1 => Syndrome 2 => Syndrome 3 => etc.
• 2nd progression: Root Cause 1 => Syndrome 1 => Syndrome 2 => Syndrome 3 => etc.
• 3rd progression: Root Cause 1 => Syndrome 1 => Syndrome 2 => Syndrome 3 => etc.

Here is an example:

• Wet/Damp Diet => Toxins in Plasma (coated tongue) => Stagnant, Thick Fluids
• Stagnant, Thick Fluids (thick mucus, high blood pressure, puffy skin) => Heavy in Mind (feeling stuck / depression)
• Stagnation/Wet/Damp Fluids => Heavy in Heart (sensation of pressure and heaviness in chest) => Mobile in Mind (overwhelmed easily, panic attacks, stress)
• Stress => Wet/Damp Diet (emotional eating, sugary food choices)

Arrow Symbol (=>) - The arrow symbol means causes. It should separate any two syndromes affecting each other. A degree may be added to the arrow specifying the cause as Fast/Slow or Strong/Weak. For example =>Fast, or =>Strong.

Root Cause - The root cause is itself a syndrome, typically in the diet, lifestyle, or mind. An example is Heavy in Diet (daily ice-cream). Frequently, the root cause includes syndromes in the body as well. For example, Heat in the Liver (yellow coating on the tongue) may itself be a root cause of a pathogenesis. A root cause is not always known and is therefore not required.

Note formally that root causes are at bottom unfathomable for the same reason we cannot explain basic premises in any debate. A flowchart describes how one nature causes another nature to exist, as heat can cause dryness. But natures are powers. So essentially pathogenesis describes a chain of operating powers. All of these powers cannot act on their own but must have a source in the firmament or in a mind which cannot be penetrated. For the purposes of medicine we can only attempt to plumb the root causes as much as possible / practical.

Branching - It is typical to break the Flowchart into multiple lines or "branches" so that your flowchart looks more like a "tree" than a line. Disease development is rarely linear. This will also make your flowchart more straight forward and less confusing as your progress from step to step.

Multiple Effects - When a syndrome has multiple causes/effects (caused by/ causes multiple other syndromes), separate the causes/effects by a comma. The "," is a synonym for the word 'and'. In the example below, a Damp Diet causes Toxins in Plasma AND Sour in Colon. Example:

• Wet/Damp Diet => Toxins in Plasma (coated tongue), Sour in Colon (candida infection in colon)

Vicious Cycles - Sometimes an imbalance is both a cause and an effect - and this is called a vicious cycle. Label vicious cycles with the prefix "VC:". However, there must be initial causes to set the cycle in motion. So, a vicious cycle still needs, if possible, discernment around the original cause. Example where Hot in Diet sets the cycle in motion:

• Hot in Diet (Drinking Coffee) => Hot in GI (Inflammation in GI)
• VC: Hot in GI => Low agni (fermentation) => Ama in GI (Smelly Gas) => Hot in GI

Common Mistakes in Drafting Pathogenesis Flowcharts