Beyond physiology, when the theory of the five elements is applied to pathology, it explains the pathological influences each of the zang-fu organs has on the others. For example, the liver can transmit its disease to the spleen; this is known as "wood overacting on earth." When the troubled spleen affects the liver, it is called "earth counteracting on wood” When the diseased liver and spleen affect each other, it is due to either "a stasis of wood with a deficiency of earth," or "congestion of earth with a stasis of wood." A troubled liver may affect the heart, such a case is known as "a disorder of the mother element affecting the son element"; when the troubled liver affects the kidneys, it is called "a disorder of the son element affecting the mother element", and finally, when the troubled liver affects the lung, it is called "wood counteracting on metal. The same situation appears in other troubled organs. Whatever the problem of an organ, the theory of the five elements can be used to explain the pathological relationships between them.
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