太極陰陽圖在西醫學解釋模型的創新應用

Innovative Applications on Explanation Model of the Tai-Chi Yin-Yang Symbol in Western Medicine

易經是中國最古老的經書之一，歷經上古時期的伏羲氏、中古時期周文王、及近古時代的孔子傳述，再經數千年的淬鍊，內容不斷增修，形成一完整理論，但現今所見的太極陰陽圖，原是易經書內所無，是後人根據對易經的理解才添加進去的。20世紀量子力學先趨者、丹麥人波耳(Bohr)，提出互補原理(complementarity principle)，榮獲1922年諾貝爾物理學獎，其讚嘆太極陰陽概念可契合於其物理學的研究，甚至把太極陰陽圖作為自己家族的族徽。近來亦有應用易經概念於企業的管理，可見此哲學觀念與其他領域學科可有些交集的應用。膽固醇在體內有著極重要的生理功能，但過量反造成粥狀動脈硬化，此就像是太極陰陽圖中的物極必反。在醫療現象及處置上，常有涉及一物的正反兩面作用、例外及副作用等，我們發現可用太極陰陽圖去解釋，如此可使醫師及患者更快速掌握及了解其內涵，亦可達跨領域的創新應用。本文以血管張力素II受體阻斷劑為例，擴展太極陰陽圖為四象的應用，亦提醒我們在對病人做處置時，需隨時考量其效用、副作用、額外好處或非屬副作用的額外注意事項等。

Book of Changes or I-Ching is one of the most ancient scriptures in China. From Fuxi in ancient times through King Wen of Zhou and Confucius of the Warring States Period to the subsequent millennia, interpretations of the book have been constantly expanded into a highly sophisticated, as well as were complicated, theory. Originally absent in I-Ching, the Tai-Chi yin-yang symbol seen nowadays was added by posterity based on the understanding of the book. Pioneering quantum mechanics in the 20th century and winning the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics, Niels Bohr was so impressed by the affinity between the Tai-Chi yin-yang symbol and his complementarity principle that he embraced the symbol as his family emblem. More recently, the concepts embodied in the symbol have also been applied to business management, further indicating the existence of intersections between the cultural and philosophical concepts of the East and the sciences of the West. In medical science, for example, cholesterol in human body plays important physiological functions, but excessiveness can cause atherosclerosis; this echoes the Tai-Chi yin-yang idea that things tend to develop in the opposite direction when they are pushed to the extreme. In medicine, there are plenty of exceptions, side effects, and drugs or treatments that can both heal and hurt; applying the Tai-chi yin-yang theory in an innovative, cross-disciplinary manner may help physicians, as well as patients, better understand their meanings and explore their implications. In this article, angiotensin II receptor blockers were used to extend the application of Tai-Chi yin-yang symbol to the concept of the four quadrants. It reminds physicians of the need to consider their treatment’s effectiveness, side effects, additional benefits, and precautions not related to side effects.