The Medical Cases of Ding Ganren

"The Medical Cases of Ding Ganren" is a collection of clinical case records by Ding Ganren (1866–1926), a renowned physician of the Jiangnan region in modern times and a leading figure of the Menghe medical school. First published in 1927, the work comprises eight volumes. Volumes 1 through 6 contain proven cases of externally contracted seasonal diseases such as cold damage and warm diseases, as well as internal miscellaneous diseases; Volume 7 covers gynecological cases; and Volume 8 covers surgical cases. The cases are organized by condition, including cold damage, cholera, stroke, damp-warmth, menstrual disorders, and neck abscess, with roughly 400 typical cases and more than 600 prescriptions recorded. The book concludes with an appendix of herbal pastes and such works as "A Brief Guide to the Treatment of Scarlet Fever with Sore Throat" and "Selected Essential Prescriptions." Ding Ganren was rich in both learning and experience: in treating externally contracted diseases he could integrate the diagnostic and therapeutic methods of cold damage and warm disease; in treating difficult and severe conditions he was skilled at grasping the key points of pattern identification and applying methods with flexible ingenuity; and in surgical conditions he likewise emphasized the whole person and the integration of internal and external treatment. The selected cases often involve dangerous and serious illnesses, with clear reasoning and prudent prescriptions. This edition, compiled by Su Li and others, is included in the People's Medical Publishing House "TCM Clinical Must-Read Series," carefully collated against an excellent base text, and is an important reader for studying modern TCM clinical pattern-identification thinking and the academic experience of the Menghe medical school.