二短者。阴也。指下寻之不及本位曰短。主四肢恶寒腹中生气。宿食不消。
短者。阴也。坤之象也。坤属土。脾土旺则能消化饮食。使清阳之气。实于
四肢。浊阴之气。归于六腑。自然上下宣通。脉经舒畅。何至有气壅之患
也。倘一为生冷宿食所伤。则阳气郁遏于阴中。不得畅达于外。清浊相
干。而腹中之冷气生矣。今云指下寻之。不及本位。言其中手而短也。经
曰。短则气病。四肢属阳。阳气伏则不能实于四肢。故四肢恶寒也。阳气
郁。则胃气不行。故腹中生气。要知皆由宿食不消之所致耳。
按丹溪心法曰。长为热流通。短为寒凝结。又脉经第一篇载。脉二十四
道。有数脉。散脉。革脉。而无长脉。短脉。牢脉。至第九篇。始见长为阳。短为
阴之说。又以动为阳。以弦为阴。第十三篇云。夫脉者。血之府也。长则气
治。短则气病。数则烦心。大则病进。上盛则气高。下盛则气胀。代则气衰。
细则气少。
短脉阴中有伏阳。气壅三焦不得昌。藏中宿食生寒气。大泻通肠必得康。
洁古曰。宿食生寒气。何由通肠。谓阴中伏阳故也。使三焦之气。不得通
行于上下。故令大泻通肠。使三焦之气。宣行于上下。故用巴豆动药也。
外药随证应见使之。此在长短脉交论内细说之。病久温白丸。新病备
急丹。愚谓短脉阴中有伏阳者。何也。脉不及本位。中手而短也。不及本
位。则为阴。中手而短。乃伏阳也阳气伏于阴中。使三焦之气。郁而不行。
故曰气壅三焦不得昌也。然三焦之气。所以壅遏而不行者。由于其人
内为生冷宿物所伤。故三焦之阳气不行。而脏腑之寒气生矣。若以大
黄芒硝之药利之。则硝黄性寒。究不能除其生冷之气。而病终不得除。
当以辛热之药。如备急丸之类。大泻其腹中宿物。则三焦之气。可以复
行。而病始得康健也。
按经云。短疾而滑酒病。又云。短而数心痛。心烦。脉经云。寸口脉中手短
者。曰头痛。
两条脉象为短脉，属阴。手指按压时感觉脉搏范围达不到正常位置，称为短脉。主病包括四肢怕冷、腹中产生冷气、宿食不消化。
短脉属于阴，象征坤卦。坤卦对应土，脾土功能旺盛则能消化饮食，使清阳之气充实于四肢，浊阴之气归于六腑，自然上下宣通，脉象经畅。怎会有气机壅滞的病患呢？如果一旦因生冷食物或宿食受伤，阳气就会郁遏在阴中，不能畅达于体表。清浊之气相互干扰，腹中的冷气就产生了。现在说“手指按压时感觉不到本位”，是指中指下感觉脉象短缩。经典记载：“短脉主气病。”四肢属阳，阳气潜伏则不能充实于四肢，所以四肢怕冷。阳气郁结，胃气运行不畅，所以腹中产生冷气。要知道这都是由宿食不消化所导致的。
按《丹溪心法》记载：长脉代表热邪流通，短脉代表寒邪凝结。另外《脉经》第一篇记载了二十四种脉象，有数脉、散脉、革脉，但没有长脉、短脉、牢脉。直到第九篇，才出现长脉为阳、短脉为阴的说法。又认为动脉为阳，弦脉为阴。第十三篇说：“脉是血的府库。长脉表示气机调治，短脉表示气机有病，数脉表示心烦，大脉表示病情进展，上部盛则气逆，下部盛则气胀，代脉表示气衰，细脉表示气少。”
短脉是阴中有伏阳，气机壅滞在三焦不得通畅。脏腑中有宿食产生寒气，必须通过大泻通肠才能康复。洁古说：宿食产生寒气，如何能通肠？说是因为阴中有伏阳的缘故。使得三焦之气不能在上下通行，所以用大泻通肠的方法，使三焦之气在上下宣行，因此使用巴豆等动药。外用药随证候反应使用。这在长短脉交论内有详细说明。久病用温白丸，新病用备急丹。我认为短脉阴中有伏阳是怎么回事呢？脉象达不到本位，中指下感觉短缩。达不到本位就是阴，中指下感觉短缩就是伏阳。阳气潜伏在阴中，使得三焦之气郁结而不运行，所以说气壅滞在三焦不得通畅。然而三焦之气之所以壅遏不运行，是因为这个人内伤于生冷宿物，所以三焦的阳气不能运行，而脏腑的寒气就产生了。如果用大黄、芒硝这类药物来利导，那么硝黄性寒，终究不能去除生冷之气，病最终也不能痊愈。应当用辛热的药物，如备急丸之类，大泻腹中的宿物，那么三焦之气就可以重新运行，病才开始康复。
Two short pulses belong to Yin. When palpated with fingers, the pulse range fails to reach its normal position, which is called a Short pulse (Duan Mai). It indicates symptoms such as aversion to cold in the four limbs, generation of cold qi in the abdomen, and indigestion of retained food.
The Short pulse belongs to Yin, symbolizing the Kun trigram. Kun corresponds to Earth; when Spleen-Earth function is robust, it can digest food and drink, allowing Clear Yang Qi to fill the four limbs and Turbid Yin Qi to return to the Six Fu organs, naturally promoting unimpeded circulation between upper and lower parts and smooth pulse flow. How could there be pathology of Qi stagnation? However, if injured by raw/cold foods or retained food, Yang Qi becomes depressed within Yin and cannot freely reach the exterior. Clear and Turbid Qi interfere with each other, generating cold qi in the abdomen. The phrase "palpated with fingers, failing to reach the normal position" refers to the pulse feeling short under the middle finger. The Classics state: "A Short pulse indicates disease of Qi." The four limbs belong to Yang; when Yang Qi is latent, it cannot fill the limbs, hence aversion to cold in the four limbs. When Yang Qi is depressed, Stomach Qi fails to move, causing cold qi in the abdomen. It must be known that all this results from indigestion of retained food.
According to *Danxi Xinfa*: A Long pulse indicates free flow of Heat, while a Short pulse indicates coagulation of Cold. Furthermore, Chapter 1 of *Mai Jing* lists twenty-four pulse types, including Rapid (Shu), Scattered (San), and Leathery (Ge) pulses, but omits Long, Short, and Deep-Firm (Lao) pulses. It is not until Chapter 9 that the theory of Long being Yang and Short being Yin appears. Additionally, Moving (Dong) is considered Yang, and Wiry (Xian) is considered Yin. Chapter 13 states: "Pulses are the residence of Blood. A Long pulse indicates regulated Qi; a Short pulse indicates diseased Qi; a Rapid pulse indicates vexation of the heart; a Large pulse indicates progression of disease; excess at the upper part indicates high Qi; excess at the lower part indicates abdominal distension; an Intermittent (Dai) pulse indicates衰竭 of Qi; a Fine (Xi) pulse indicates deficiency of Qi."
A Short pulse contains hidden Yang within Yin, with Qi stagnating in the San Jiao (Triple Burner) preventing its flourishing. Retained food in the Zang organs generates cold qi; only through drastic purgation to unblock the intestines can health be restored. Jiegu stated: "How can retained food generating cold qi be cleared via the intestines?" He answered: "Because there is hidden Yang within Yin." This prevents San Jiao Qi from circulating up and down. Therefore, drastic purgation is used to allow San Jiao Qi to circulate freely up and down, utilizing hot-pungent drugs like Croton Seed (Badou). External medicines should be applied according to syndrome manifestations. This is discussed in detail within the section on the interaction of Long and Short pulses. For chronic diseases, use Wenbai Wan; for acute diseases, use Beiji Dan. I ask: What does it mean that a Short pulse contains hidden Yang within Yin? The pulse fails to reach its normal position, feeling short under the middle finger. Failing to reach the normal position constitutes Yin; feeling short under the middle finger constitutes hidden Yang. Yang Qi hidden within Yin causes San Jiao Qi to stagnate and fail to move, thus described as Qi stagnating in the San Jiao preventing its flourishing. The reason San Jiao Qi stagnates and fails to move is internal injury from raw/cold and retained substances, causing San Jiao Yang Qi to cease moving and Zang-Fu cold qi to arise. If one uses bitter-cold drugs like Rhubarb (Dahuang) and Mirabilite (Mangxiao) to promote drainage, their cold nature ultimately cannot eliminate the raw/cold pathogen, and the disease will not resolve. One should instead use acrid-hot drugs, such as Beiji Wan, to drastically purge retained matter from the abdomen. Then San Jiao Qi can resume movement, and the patient begins to recover.
According to the Classics: "Short, rapid, and slippery pulses indicate wine-induced pathology." It also states: "Short and rapid pulses indicate heart pain and mental vexation." *Mai Jing* states: "If the Cun Kou pulse feels short upon palpation, it indicates headache."