吕缙叔以制诰知颖州。忽得疾。身躯日渐缩小。临终仅如婴儿。古无此疾。终无人识。
正德初。楚人姓潘行三者。身甚肥壮。卒之日。缩如婴儿。人皆莫知其由。后询之。平
生服硫。以致如此。始信吕缙叔之事不妄。
皇甫及者。生如常儿。其父为太原少尹。甚钟爱之。至太和十三年。年十四矣。忽暴长
大。超时而身越七尺。带兼数围。长啜大嚼。三倍于昔。明年秋。无疾而逝。
震按列子载僬侥国人长一尺五寸。论衡载汉光武时。颖川张仲师长一尺二寸。博物志载
齐桓公时。李子昂长三寸三分。游于海鹄嗉中。此短小之至者也。河图玉版载龙伯国人长三
十丈。谷梁传载叔孙得臣杀长狄侨如。身横九亩。断其首而载之。眉见于轼。语林载齐武帝
时。孟业为幽州牧。肥重千斤。此长大之至者也。然奇形异状。亦天地所生成耳。山海经载
者更多。总皆穷荒绝域。莫可查究。若中国之人。或渐缩小。或暴长大。岂非怪哉。是即其
人死亡之兆也。至于元察部将魏淑渐渐缩小。竟作婴孩。其母妻襁抱之。又渐渐长大。复还
原体。其主帅仍官之。此则怪中之怪。无关于病。故不收录。
汪石山治一妇。每临经时。腰腹胀痛。玉户淫淫虫出。如鼠粘子状。绿色者数十枚。后
经水随至。其夫问故。汪曰。厥阴风木生虫。妇人血海属于厥阴。此必风木自甚。兼脾胃湿
热而然也。正如春夏之交。木盛湿热之时而生诸虫是也。宜清厥阴湿热。即令以酒煮黄连为
君。白术、香附为臣。研末粥丸。空腹吞之。月余经至。无虫。且妊矣。
〔附〕休宁西山金举人。病小腹痛甚。百药不效。一医为灸关元十余壮。次日茎中淫淫
而痒。视之有虫出。以手扯去之。虫长五六寸。连日出虫七条。痛不复作。初甚惊恐。旋即
绝迹。此因其人善饮御内。膀胱不无湿热。遇有留血瘀浊。则附形蒸化为虫矣。虫为艾火所
攻。势不能容。故从溺孔出也。以是知痨虫寸白虫。皆由内之湿热蒸郁而生。非是外至者也
又吴茭山治一产后。恶露不通。小腹结块疼痛。寒热如疟。用琥珀膏贴之。块 而虫从阴
户出。亦云。尿胞湿热生虫。
张景岳曰。一人患心腹大痛。或止或作。痛不可忍。凡用去积行气等药。百方不效。但
于痛极时。须用拳捶之。痛得少止。莫测其故。忽一胡僧见之。曰。余能治也。令病者先食
香饵。继进一丸。打下一硬嘴异虫。遂愈。此因虫啮肠脏。所以痛极。捶之则五内震动。虫
亦畏而敛伏。不捶则虫得自由。所以复作。此亦验虫奇法。
震按古人论虫病。皆以为湿热所生。然景岳治胡宅小儿呕泻吐蛔案。蛔至千百条。日用
参、附而蛔尚日生。究竟以温补收功。则湿热二字。不足尽之也。至于逐虫之药。如蔡康积
患寸白虫。医者令其空腹饥甚之时。炙猪肉一脔。置口中咀嚼而勿咽。以引虫头向上。觉胸
中如万箭攻攒。即饮以药。方入虫口。其药乃研槟榔细末。取石榴东行根煎汤调服耳。祛虫
大法。不过如是。然云此虫惟月三日以前虫头向上。而许叔微又云。肺虫惟初四初六日上行
则所谓上浣虫头向上。中浣虫头向横。下浣虫头向下之说。又不可执也。至如喉中之应声
虫畏蓝汁。腹中之应声虫畏雷丸。书曾备载。世皆未见。况灸疮内鲜血飞如蝴蝶。皮肤下虫
走声如儿啼。临卧浑身虱出。头皮时有蛆行。可比齐谐之志怪。谁逢夏氏之奇方。
一人在姻家过饮醉甚。送宿花轩。夜半酒渴。欲水不得。遂口吸石槽中水碗许。天明视
之。槽中俱是小红虫。心陡然而惊。郁郁不散。心中如有蛆物。胃腕便觉闭塞。日想月疑。
渐成痿膈。遍医不愈。吴球往视之。知其病生于疑也。用结线红色者。分开剪断如蛆状。用
巴豆二粒。同饭捣烂。入红线丸十数丸。令病患暗室内服之。又于宿盆内放水。须臾欲泻。
令病患坐盆。泻出前物。荡漾如蛆。然后开窗令亲视之。其病从此解。调理半月而愈。
震按吴公之法巧矣。然再佐以杀虫药同丸。亦无不可。
汪石山治一人。形长而瘦。色白而脆。年三十余。得奇疾。遍身淫淫循行如虫。或从左
脚
腿起。渐次而上至头。复下于右脚。自觉虫行有声之状。召医诊视。多不识为何病。汪诊其
脉。浮小而濡。按之不足。兼察形视色。知其为虚证矣。伤寒论曰。身如虫行。汗多亡阳也
遂仿此例。而用补中益气汤。多加参、 。以酒炒黄柏五分佐之。服至三十帖。遂愈。
〔附〕一人遍身皮底。浑浑如波浪声。痒不可忍。抓之血出不止。名气奔。用人参、苦
杖、青盐、细辛各一两。水煎服之愈。
吕缙叔担任制诰并掌管颍州。忽然患病，身躯日渐缩小，临终时仅如婴儿般大小。古代没有这种病，最终无人能识别。
正德初年，楚地有个姓潘名行三的人，身体非常肥壮，去世那天，身体缩得像婴儿一样。人们都不知道原因。后来询问得知，他平生服用硫磺，导致如此结果，这才相信吕缙叔的事情不是妄言。
皇甫及，出生时像普通孩子。他的父亲是太原少尹，非常钟爱他。到了太和十三年，他十四岁了，忽然突然长大，短时间内身高超过七尺，腰带要系好几圈，大口吃喝，食量是过去的三倍。第二年秋天，无病而亡。
俞震按：《列子》记载僬侥国人长一尺五寸；《论衡》记载汉光武帝时，颍川人张仲师长一尺二寸；《博物志》记载齐桓公时，李子昂长三寸三分，在海鹄的嗉囊中游动，这是短小的极致了。《河图玉版》记载龙伯国人长三十丈；《谷梁传》记载叔孙得臣杀死长狄侨如，尸体横陈九亩，砍下他的头载在车上，眉毛露出车轼之上；《语林》记载齐武帝时，孟业任幽州牧，肥胖重达千斤，这是长大的极致了。然而奇形怪状，也是天地所生成的。《山海经》中记载的更多，总归都是偏远荒凉之地，无法查究。至于中原之人，有的逐渐缩小，有的突然长大，难道不奇怪吗？这其实是他们死亡的征兆罢了。至于元朝察部将领魏淑逐渐缩小，竟变成婴孩，母亲和妻子抱着他，后来又逐渐长大，恢复原样，他的主帅仍然让他做官。这是怪异中的怪异，与疾病无关，所以不收录。
汪石山治疗一位妇女，每次来月经时，腰腹胀痛，阴户流出淫淫状的虫子，像鼠粘子形状，绿色的有几十枚，随后经血才到来。她的丈夫问原因，汪石山说：“厥阴风木生虫。妇人的血海属于厥阴，这一定是风木过盛，兼有脾胃湿热所致。”正如春夏之交，木气旺盛、湿热之时生出各种虫子一样。应当清利厥阴湿热，于是令用酒煮黄连为君药，白术、香附为臣药，研成粉末，用米粥做成丸剂，空腹吞服。一个月后月经来潮，没有虫子，并且怀孕了。
〔附〕休宁西山金举人，患小腹痛得很厉害，百药无效。一位医生为他灸关元穴十余壮，第二天尿道中淫淫作痒，查看发现有虫子出来，用手扯去。虫子长五六寸，接连几天排出虫子七条，疼痛不再发作。起初非常惊恐，随即绝迹。这是因为此人善于饮酒且房事过度，膀胱难免有湿热，遇到留存的瘀血浊物，便依附形体蒸化为虫。虫子被艾火攻击，势不能容，所以从溺孔排出。由此可知，痨虫、寸白虫，都是由内部的湿热蒸郁而生，并非外来的。
又吴茭山治疗一位产后妇女，恶露不通，小腹结块疼痛，寒热像疟疾一样，用琥珀膏贴敷，肿块消散，虫子从阴户排出。这也是尿胞湿热生虫。
张景岳说：有一人患心腹大痛，有时停止有时发作，痛不可忍。凡是使用消积、行气等药物，百般方法都无效。只是在痛极时，必须用拳头捶打，疼痛才能稍微缓解，不知其中的缘故。忽然一位胡僧看见后说：“我能治好。”让病人先吃香饵，接着进服一丸药，打下一只硬嘴异虫，于是痊愈。这是因为虫子咬噬肠脏，所以痛极。捶打则五脏震动，虫子也畏惧而收敛潜伏，不捶打则虫子得以自由活动，所以疼痛复发。这也是验证虫子的奇特方法。
俞震按：古人论述虫病，都认为是由湿热所生。然而张景岳治疗胡家小儿呕吐腹泻吐蛔虫一案，蛔虫多达千百条，每天用人参、附子，但蛔虫还不断新生，最终靠温补收功，那么“湿热”二字，不足以完全概括它。至于驱虫的药物，如蔡康积患寸白虫，医生让他空腹饥饿时，烤一块猪肉，放在口中咀嚼而不吞咽，以引诱虫头向上，感觉胸中像万箭攒射，就服药，药才进入虫口。那药乃是研细的槟榔末，取石榴东向根煎汤调服罢了。驱虫的大法，不过如此。然而有人说此虫只在月初前三天虫头向上，而许叔微又说肺虫只在初四、初六日上行，那么所谓上旬虫头向上、中旬虫头向横、下旬虫头向下的说法，又不可拘执。至于如喉中的应声虫畏蓝汁，腹中的应声虫畏雷丸，书中曾详细记载，世人却都没见过。何况灸疮内的鲜血飞如蝴蝶，皮肤下的虫子走动声如婴儿啼哭，临睡前浑身虱子爬出，头皮时有蛆虫爬行，这些可比得上《齐谐》那样的志怪小说，谁能遇到夏氏那样的奇方呢？
一个人在姻亲家喝酒过量醉倒，被送到花轩住宿，半夜口渴想喝水却得不到，于是口吸石槽中的水约一碗。天亮一看，槽中全是小红虫，心中陡然惊吓，郁郁不散，心中好像有蛆虫，胃脘便觉得闭塞，日思月疑，渐渐形成痿膈症，遍访名医不愈。吴球前往诊治，知道病生于疑虑。用染成红色的线，分开剪断如蛆状，用巴豆两粒，同饭捣烂，制成红线丸十数丸，让患者在暗室中服用。又在旧盆内放水，片刻后想要排泄，让患者坐在盆上，泻出前物，荡漾如蛆。然后开窗让亲人观看，病从此解除，调理半月而愈。
俞震按：吴公的方法很巧妙。然而再佐以杀虫药同丸，也未尝不可。
汪石山治疗一人，身形长而瘦，肤色白而脆弱，三十多岁，得了奇疾，遍身淫淫循行如虫感，或从左脚腿起，渐次而上至头，再下到右脚，自觉有虫行有声的样子，召医诊治，多不认识是什么病。汪石山诊其脉，浮小而濡，按之不足，兼察形视色，知道他是虚证。《伤寒论》说：“身如虫行，汗多亡阳也。”于是仿照此例，而用补中益气汤，多加人参、黄芪，用酒炒黄柏五分佐之。服用三十帖，于是痊愈。
Lu Jinsu served as a Zhi Gao (Official responsible for drafting imperial edicts) and administered Yingzhou. He suddenly fell ill, his body gradually shrinking until, at the deathbed, he was only the size of an infant. This disease did not exist in ancient times, and ultimately no one could identify it.
In the early Zhengde era, a man named Pan Xingsan from Chu was very stout. On the day of his death, he shrank to the size of an infant. People did not know the reason. Later inquiry revealed that he had taken sulfur throughout his life, leading to this result, which made people believe that the story of Lu Jinsu was not false.
Huangfu Ji was born like an ordinary child. His father was the Shaoyin (Vice Governor) of Taiyuan and loved him dearly. By the 13th year of Taihe, when he was fourteen, he suddenly grew rapidly, exceeding seven chi in height within a short time, requiring several belts to hold his waist, eating and drinking heavily, with an appetite three times that of before. The following autumn, he died without illness.
Yu Zhen notes: *Liezi* records that the people of Jiaoyao were five chi tall; *Lunheng* records that during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Zhang Zhongchang from Yingchuan was two chi tall; *Bowuzhi* records that during the reign of Duke Huan of Qi, Li Zi'ang was three cun and three fen tall, swimming in the crop of a sea goose, which is the extreme of small stature. *Hetu Yubian* records that the people of Longbo were thirty zhang tall; *Guliang Zhuan* records that Shusun Dechen killed Qiaoru, a member of the Changdi tribe, whose body stretched across nine mu, with his head cut off and carried on a cart, his eyebrows visible above the carriage crossbar; *Yulin* records that during the reign of Emperor Wu of Qi, Meng Ye, the Prefect of Youzhou, was obese and weighed a thousand jin, which is the extreme of large stature. However, strange shapes and appearances are also generated by Heaven and Earth. There are many more such records in *Shanhaijing*, all belonging to remote and desolate regions that cannot be investigated. As for people in China, some gradually shrink, others suddenly grow large; is this not strange? This is actually an omen of their impending death. As for Wei Shu, a general under the Yuan Cha department, who gradually shrank into an infant, held by his mother and wife, and then gradually grew back to his original form, remaining in office under his commander-in-chief, this is a wonder among wonders, unrelated to disease, and thus not recorded.
Wang Shishan treated a woman who, every time her menstruation approached, suffered from abdominal distension and pain, with worms exuding from the vagina in a sticky manner, resembling mouse-burrs, green in color, numbering dozens, followed by the arrival of menstrual blood. Her husband asked for the cause. Wang said, "The Wind-Wood of Jueyin generates worms. The Blood Sea of women belongs to Jueyin; this must be due to excessive Wind-Wood combined with Damp-Heat in the Spleen and Stomach." Just as various worms are born during the transition between spring and summer when Wood is prosperous and Damp-Heat prevails, so too here. It is appropriate to clear Damp-Heat from Jueyin. He ordered decocting Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian, 黄连) in wine as the sovereign herb, with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu, 白术) and Cyperi Rhizoma (Xiangfu, 香附) as minister herbs, grinding them into powder and forming pills with rice gruel, to be swallowed on an empty stomach. After more than a month, menstruation arrived, no worms appeared, and she became pregnant.
[Appendix] Jin Juror from Xishan, Xiuning, suffered severe lower abdominal pain, unresponsive to hundreds of medicines. A physician moxaed the Guanyuan acupoint (CV4, Gate of Energy) over ten times. The next day, itching occurred in the urethra, and upon inspection, worms emerged, which were pulled out by hand. The worms were five or six cun long, and seven worms were discharged over consecutive days, after which the pain ceased. Initially terrified, they subsequently disappeared. This was because the person indulged in alcohol and sexual activity, causing Damp-Heat in the Bladder. When stagnant blood and turbid matter remained, they transformed into worms through steaming. Attacked by moxa fire, the worms could not remain and thus exited through the urinary meatus. From this, we know that tuberculosis worms and tapeworms are generated by internal Damp-Heat steaming and stagnation, not by external invasion.
Furthermore, Wu Jiaoshan treated a postpartum woman with obstructed lochia, a mass in the lower abdomen with pain, and chills and fever resembling malaria. Using Polycrystalline Amber Plaster (Hupo Gao, Amber Ointment), the mass dissipated, and worms emerged from the vaginal orifice. This is also attributed to Damp-Heat in the urinary bladder generating worms.
Zhang Jingyue said: One person suffered severe heart and abdominal pain, intermittent and unbearable. All attempts using drugs to remove accumulation and promote Qi circulation failed. Only when punched with a fist during extreme pain did the pain subside slightly, the reason unknown. Suddenly, a Hu monk saw this and said, "I can cure it." He instructed the patient to first eat bait, then take one pill, after which a hard-mouthed strange worm was expelled, and the patient recovered. This was because the worms bit the intestines and viscera, causing extreme pain. Punching vibrates the five viscera, frightening the worms into hiding; without punching, the worms move freely, causing recurrence. This is also a miraculous method for verifying worms.
Yu Zhen notes: Ancient discussions on worm diseases all attribute them to Damp-Heat. However, in Zhang Jingyue's treatment of a child from the Hu family suffering from vomiting, diarrhea, and expelling roundworms, where thousands of roundworms were expelled daily despite the use of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参) and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi, 附子), with roundworms still continuously generated, and ultimate success achieved through warming and tonifying, the term "Damp-Heat" is insufficient to explain it. As for vermifuge drugs, such as Cai Kangji suffering from tapeworms, the doctor instructed him to chew a piece of roasted pork on an empty, hungry stomach without swallowing, to attract the worm's head upward. When he felt as if ten thousand arrows were piercing his chest, he took medicine, which entered the worm's mouth. The medicine consisted of fine powder of Arecae Semen (Binglang, 槟榔) mixed with a decoction of the east-facing root of Pomegranate Pericarpium (Shiliupi, 石榴皮). The general principle of expelling worms is no more than this. However, some say the worm's head points upward only in the first three days of the lunar month, while Xu Shumi says lung worms ascend only on the fourth and sixth days. Thus, the theory that worms point upward in the first decade, sideways in the second, and downward in the third decade should not be rigidly adhered to. As for the echo-responsive worm in the throat fearing Indigo Naturalis (Lanlan, 靛蓝) juice, and the echo-responsive worm in the abdomen fearing Wolframia Seed (Leiwan, 雷丸), these are recorded in books but unseen by the world. Moreover, blood flying like butterflies from moxibustion wounds, worms moving under the skin making sounds like crying infants, lice emerging from the whole body before sleep, and maggots crawling on the scalp—these compare to the bizarre tales in *Qixie*. Who can encounter the miraculous prescriptions of Xia Shi?
A person drank excessively at a relative's house and was sent to rest in a flower pavilion. In the middle of the night, thirsty for water but unable to find any, he sucked about a bowl of water from a stone trough. At dawn, he saw that the trough was full of small red worms. Startled, his depression persisted, feeling as if maggots were in his heart, and his epigastrium felt blocked. Day by day, suspicion grew, gradually forming Wei Ge syndrome (dysphagia with wasting), unresponsive to numerous doctors. Wu Qiu examined him, knowing the disease arose from doubt. He used red-dyed threads, cut into pieces resembling maggots, and prepared pills with two grains of Crotonis Fructus (Badou, 巴豆) pounded with rice. He instructed the patient to take ten or more Red Thread Pills in a dark room. Water was placed in an old basin; shortly after, the patient desired defecation. He sat on the basin, excreting the previous contents, which swirled like maggots. Then, the window was opened for relatives to witness, and the illness was resolved. After half a month of regulation, he recovered.
Yu Zhen notes: Master Wu's method was ingenious. However, adding vermifuge drugs to the same pills would also have been acceptable.
Wang Shishan treated a person who was tall and thin, pale and fragile, in his thirties, suffering from a strange disease. His entire body felt as if insects were crawling beneath the skin, starting from the left leg, ascending to the head, then descending to the right leg, with the sensation of hearing insects moving. Physicians summoned could not identify the disease. Wang palpated the pulse, finding it floating, small, and soggy, deficient upon pressure. Observing his form and complexion, he determined it was a deficiency syndrome. *Shanghan Lun* states, "Body feels like insects crawling, caused by excessive sweating leading to Yang collapse." Following this example, Wang used Buzhong Yiqi Tang (Tonify the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction), adding extra Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参) and Astragali Radix (Huangqi, 黄芪), assisted by five fen of Phellodendri Cortex (Huangbai, 黄柏) stir-fried in wine. After thirty doses, he recovered.
[Appendix] One person had a sensation of waves beneath the skin all over the body, unbearable itching, bleeding upon scratching, known as Qi Ben (Qi Rushing). Treating with one liang each of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参), Scutellariae Radix (Kuzhi, 苦杖 - likely a variant or local name for Scutellaria or similar bitter cold herb), Natrii Chloridum (Qingyan, 青盐), and Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xixin, 细辛), decocted in water, resulted in recovery.