Concept of blood stasis in Chinese medical textbooks: A systematic review

IntroductionBlood stasis is a clinical syndrome caused by an impedance or cessation of blood flow and is regarded as the cause or the result of many chronic diseases in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The aim of this review was to summarize definitions of blood stasis in TCM and recurring concepts regarding the physiopathology that accompany these definitions.MethodsA systematic review of textbooks was performed in 5 internet bookstores (Huawen and Cathay bookshops, Taobao, Amazon, Dangdang, Baidu), 3 search engines (Google, Baidu, and Yahoo) and 2 electronic libraries (the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine), to find unique definitions of blood stasis. The authors assessed all books, extracted unique definitions, and selected concepts of physiopathology by using the constant comparison method.ResultsThe authors found a total of 55 textbooks. Of which, 17 was included for further analysis and identified 17 definitions of blood stasis with recurring concepts surrounding the physiopathology. These concepts were composed of 4 categories that included vascular obstruction, abnormal flow of blood, blood congestion in a viscus, and contaminated blood.ConclusionBlood stasis is still a developing concept. This information may be a valuable reference for future research seeking to standardise the concept of blood stasis.