Centipede (Wugong)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Scolopendra |
| Botanical Name: | Scolopendra subspinipes mutilams L. Koch |
| Common Name: | Centipede |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The centipede is caught in spring, and then it is boiled, dried and pounded into powder, or fixed to bamboo slats to dry. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent, warm and toxic |
| Meridian: | Liver |
| Functions: | To subdue endogenous wind and stop spasms To dispel toxins To clear collaterals and stop pain |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Acute and chronic convulsions or tetany manifested as spasms, convulsions of the limbs and ophisthotonos. *Use with Scorpion (Quanxie), White-stiff silkworm (Baijiangcan) and Uncaria stem (Gouteng). 2. Stubborn headache and rheumatic pain. *Use with Scorpion (Quanxie), Gastrodia tuber (Tianma), White-stiff silkworm (Baijiangcan) and Chuanxiong rhizome (Chuanxiong). |
| Dosage: | 1-3 g; 0.6-1 g for powder |
| Cautions: | This substance is toxic and overdosing should be avoided. This substance is contraindicated during pregnancy. |