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A 证型 (zhèng xíng) — pattern — is the TCM characterization of the underlying mechanism of disease at a given moment. The same Western-medical disease may manifest as different patterns in different patients, stages, or environments; conversely, different diseases sharing the same underlying mechanism belong to the same pattern. Pattern differentiation and treatment (辨证论治) — selecting therapy based on the current pattern rather than the named disease — is the core of TCM clinical reasoning.