In Chinese Medicine, pulse diagnosis is the most important method of diagnosis. The earliest historical references trace pulse diagnosis to 5th century BCE. The pulse diagnosis is used not only in Chinese Medicine, but Western medicine as well, although there are key differences. In Western medicine, pulse is felt to measure the heart rate. In Chinese Medicine, pulse diagnosis is a more developed diagnostic tool for the practitioner to assess the health of all the major organ systems of the body.

Chinese Medicine is the oldest, still practiced medical system in the world. The reason for its success has been the ability to accurately diagnose patients and to prescribe a treatment unique to that patient. The key to this for thousands of years has been pulse diagnosis. The process of pulse diagnosis is related to simple fluid dynamics. As blood travels down the forearm, in the radial artery, it bounces against scaphoid bone in the wrist. This event creates a slight back flow of blood resulting in a wave-pattern. It was discovered thousands of years ago that these wave-like patterns correspond to certain changes in various regions of the body. Based on these findings, proper treatment modalities can be applied.