Herb

Silverfish (Yi yu)

衣鱼yi yu
1 sourceLepisma saccharina

Recorded in Bencao Gangmu for women's hernial masses and dysuria, childhood wind-stroke with neck stiffness (rubbed on the back), strangury, and applied to sores and scars; classical texts also record it as abortifacient.

Used in 1 formulas

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷四十一·虫部·化生类·衣鱼·主治

References
  • functions_en self-translated from 本草纲目 traditional_functions (public domain; the Chinese tf carries verbatim excerpt_hash citations). No modern work consulted.
  • WHO IST-TCM terminology-aligned for the English rendering.
  • public pharmacopoeia & zoological facts (public-domain reference facts; no proprietary modern source).
Traditional functions

Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.

传统中医记载：妇人疝瘕，小便不利，小儿中风项强，背起摩之；疗淋涂疮，灭瘢堕胎；合鹰屎、僵蚕，同傅疮瘢即灭。

Nature, flavor & meridians

Nature & flavor: 咸，温，无毒。

Used in formulas
Citations
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷四十一·虫部·化生类·衣鱼·条名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷四十一·虫部·化生类·衣鱼·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷四十一·虫部·化生类·衣鱼·主治Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.