title: Terms referring to psoriasis vulgaris in the classical Chinese medicine literature: a systematic analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Psoriasis vulgaris is a modern medical term. In the classical Chinese medicine (CM) literature, this disorder could be classified under a diversity of terms. In order to explore how psoriasis vulgaris was conceptualized and managed throughout Chinese medical history, we undertook a systematic longitudinal analysis of descriptions in the classical CM literature of skin disorders consistent with psoriasis vulgaris.
  
  
  METHODS
  Candidate search terms were identified from 33 contemporary CM books as relevant to psoriasis vulgaris. Thirteen terms were used to search the Zhong Hua Yi Dian--'Encyclopaedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine', 4th edition, a digital collection of over 1000 medical books. Search results were entered in a spreadsheet, citations that were consistent with psoriasis vulgaris were identified based on: (i) a description of the features of psoriasis vulgaris and (ii) judgment by two clinicians regarding relevance to psoriasis vulgaris. Analysis focused on the use of terms by historical period (Chinese dynasty) and whether the terms were specific for psoriasis vulgaris
  
  
  RESULTS
  608 citations dating from 363 to 1947AD were included. The two criteria for determining inclusion of citations were combined to select the pool of citations most relevant to psoriasis vulgaris. Sixty citations from eight search terms were found in this pool. Among the eight terms, Bai Bi, She Shi and Bi Feng consistently identified citations that were likely to be psoriasis. The earliest was from 1368AD (Ming dynasty). The remaining five terms yielded inconsistent results. Citations of disorders consistent with psoriasis vulgaris appear prior to 1368-1644AD (Ming dynasty), but the terms used were not specific for psoriasis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bai Bi, She Shi and Bi Feng are the terms most consistently used to refer to psoriasis vulgaris. They first appeared in 1368-1644AD (Ming dynasty) and Bai bi remains in use. Regarding the other terms, certain citations may have referred to psoriasis vulgaris, but in other cases these terms could be used for disorders whose descriptions were inconsistent with psoriasis.
authors.affiliation: China-Australia International Research Centre for Chinese Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Claire Shuiqing
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: China-Australia International Research Centre for Chinese Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: May
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and The Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yuhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: China-Australia International Research Centre for Chinese Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and The Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jason Jingjie
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and The Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Danni
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: China-Australia International Research Centre for Chinese Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Suyueh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: China-Australia International Research Centre for Chinese Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony Lin
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and The Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xinfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and The Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: luchuanjian888@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Chuanjian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: China-Australia International Research Centre for Chinese Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and The Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: charlie.xue@rmit.edu.au.
authors.forename: Charlie Changli
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Xue
mesh_terms: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: Chinese medicine; Classical literature; Psoriasis; Scholastics; Terminology