This ability to use naked eye observation and intuition to diagnose hidden illnesses in patients was extremely popular in ancient times. Every skilled practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine was capable of it.
It was known as the Observation Technique.
When traditional Chinese medicine practitioners treated patients, they used the four basic diagnostic methods: inspection (observation), auscultation and olfaction (listening and smelling), inquiry, and palpation (pulse-taking and palpation).
Observation was ranked first.
It was the leader among the four diagnostic methods in traditional Chinese medicine.
By examining the patient's complexion, skin color, nails, tongue coating, body shape, and so on, it provides the most direct initial diagnostic impression. It helps to broadly identify the types of illnesses present, facilitating further diagnosis of the lesion and differential diagnosis based on pathology.
