Pharmaceutical Name:

Scorpio

Zoological Name:

Buthus martensi Karsch  

Common Name:

Scorpion

Source of Earliest Record:

Kaibao Bencao

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The scorpion is caught in spring or autumn and then boiled and dried in the sun.

Properties and Taste:

Pungent, neutral and toxic

Meridian:

Liver

Functions:

To subdue endogenous wind and stop spasms
To dispel toxins
To dispel wind and stop pain

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Convulsions due to high fever or epileptic spasms.
*Use with Centipede (Wugong) in the formula Zijing San.

2.     Facial paralysis manifested as deviation of the eye and mouth and incomplete closing of the eyelids.
*Use with Typhonium tuber (Baifuzi) and White-stiff silkworm (Baijiangcan) in the formula Qianzhen San.

3.     Tetanus manifested as spasms of the limbs and opisthotonos.
*Use with Arisaema tuber (Tiannanxing) and Cicada slough (Chantui) in the formula Wuhu Zhuifeng San.

4.     Chronic convulsions caused by chronic diarrhea due to deficiency of the spleen manifested as spasms of the hands and feet.
*Use with Pilose asiabell root (Dangshen), White Atractylodes (Baizhu) and Gastrodia tuber (Tianma).

5.      Stubborn headache and rheumatic pain.
*Use with Centipede (Wugong) and White-stiff silkworm (Baijiangcan).

Dosage:

2-5 g; 0.6-1 g for powder

Cautions:

This substance is toxic and overdosing should be avoided.  Use with caution for a person with endogenous wind caused by deficient blood.  This substance is contraindicated during pregnancy.