Musk (Shexiang)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Moschus |
| Botanical Name: | Moschus berezovskii Flerov Moschus sifanicus Przewalski Moschus moschiferus L. |
| Common Name: | Musk |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The secretion is obtained from the naval musk gland of male musk deer. It is dried in the shade in winter or spring. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent and warm |
| Meridian: | Heart and spleen |
| Functions: | To open the orifices and clear the mind To invigorate the blood and dispel nodules To stop pain To expel placenta labor |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Unconsciousness due to high fever. *Use with Ox gallstone (Niuhuang) and Rhinoceros horn (Xijiao) in the formula Zhibao Dan. 2. Unconsciousness due to windstroke. *Use with Storax (Suhexiang) and Cloves (Dingxiang) in the formula Suhexiang Wan. 3. Carbuncles, furuncles and swellings. *Use with Frankincense (Ruxiang), Myrrh (Moyao) and Realgar (Xionghuang) in the formula Xingxiao Wan. 4. Sudden severe pain in the chest and abdominal region. *Use with Costus root (Muxiang), Peach seed (Taoren) and herbs that invigorate the blood in a formula such as Shexiang Tang. 5. Swelling and pain caused by external injuries. *Use with Sappan wood (Sumu), Myrrh (Moyao) and Safflower (Honghua) in the formula Bali San. 6. Dead fetus or placenta failing to be expelled. *Use with Cinnamon bark (Rougui) in the formula Xiang Gui San. |
| Dosage: | 0.06-0.1 g (in pill form) |
| Cautions: | The substance must not be cooked. It is contradicted during pregnancy. |