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Oral ulcers are characterized by recurrent round or oval ulcerations of the mucosa of the lips, cheeks, tongue, or palate, with burning pain that interferes with eating. Because the mouth is the orifice of the Spleen and the tongue is the sprout of the Heart, the condition is most closely linked to Heart, Spleen, and Stomach. Repletion patterns arise from Heart-Spleen accumulated heat or Stomach fire from rich spicy diet; vacuity patterns arise from yin depletion with floating vacuous fire. Relapses are often triggered by overwork, emotional strain, or dietary irregularity.
Key differentiation: Heart fire flaming upward presents with ulcers on the tip or edges of the tongue, red and burning, with vexation, insomnia, and short reddish urine. Spleen-Stomach accumulated heat shows numerous large ulcers with pronounced surrounding redness, foul breath, constipation, and a thick yellow tongue coating. Yin vacuity with flaming fire shows recurrent, slow-healing ulcers that are paler with milder pain, accompanied by dry mouth and throat, five-center heat, and a red tongue with scant coating. Repletion patterns have acute onset with marked local redness; vacuity patterns are chronic and relapsing.
@misc{bencaodian-kou-chuang,
author = {{Bencaodian Editorial}},
title = {Kou Chuang 口疮 (Oral Ulcers)},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine},
url = {https://bencaodian.org/en/conditions/kou-chuang},
urldate = {2026-04-17},
note = {CC BY-SA 4.0}
}© Bencaodian Editorial · Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0