Floating (Fu)

Clinical Significance
Invasion of external Wind Yin deficiency (interior conditions)
Aspect
depth rate strength size length shape rhythm
Feeling
This pulse can be felt with a light pressure of the fingers, just resting the fingers on the artery.
Kind
Floating Deep Slow Rapid Empty Full

Floating (Fu)

Feeling

This pulse can be felt with a light pressure of the fingers, just resting the fingers on the artery.

Clinical significance

  • Invasion of external Wind
  • Yin deficiency (interior conditions)

In exterior conditions, this quality indicates the presence of an exterior pattern from invasion by an exterior pathogenic factor, such as Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat. If it is Floating and Tight, it indicates Wind-Cold; if it is Floating and Rapid, it indicates Wind-Heat.

In interior conditions, if the pulse is Floating at the superficial level but Empty at the deep level, it indicates deficiency of Yin.

In rare cases, the pulse can be Floating in other interior conditions, such as anaemia or cancer. In these cases, the pulse is Floating because Qi is very deficient and ‘floats’ to the surface of the body.