NBCE ACUPUNCTURE 2026 STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔the nature of fire - ✔✔rise to the head, dry fluids, injure blood and yin, cause
bleeding, affect the mind
✔✔full fire vs empty fire - ✔✔full is all the time
empty is mostly pm
✔✔greater yang stage - ✔✔aversion to cold, headache and stiff neck, floating pulse
✔✔bright yang channel pattern - ✔✔high fever, profuse sweating, intense thirst, red
face, feeling of heat, irritability, delerium, red tongue with yellow coating, overflowing
rapid pulse
✔✔bright yang organ pattern - ✔✔high fever worse in pm, profuse sweating, sweating
of limbs, abdominal fullness and pain, constipation, dry stools, thirst, dark urine, red
tongue with thick yellow coat, deep full slippery rapid pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of lesser yang - ✔✔alternations of hot/cold, bitter taste, dry
throat, blurred vision, hypochondrial fullness/distension, no desire to eat/drink, irritability,
nausea, vomiting, unilateral thin white tongue coat, wiry-fine pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of greater yin - ✔✔pathology of spleen yang deficiency,
abdominal fullness, feeling cold, vomiting, no appetite, diahrhea, no thirst, tiredness,
pale tongue with sticky white coat, deep-weak-slow pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of lesser yin cold transformation - ✔✔pathology of kidney
yang deficiency, chills, feeling of cold, lying with body curled, listlessness, desire to
sleep, cold limbs, diaherhea, no thirst, frequent pale urination, pale and wet tongue with
white coat, deep weak slow pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of lesser yin heat transformation - ✔✔pathology of kidney yin
deficiency, feeling of heat, irritability, insomnia, dry mouth and throat at night, dark urine,
night sweat, red tongue w/o coating, fine-rapid pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of terminal yin - ✔✔persistent thirst, feeling of energy rising to
the chest, pain/heat sensation in heart region, hungry but no desire to eat, cold limbs,
diahrhea, vomiting, vomiting of roundworms, wiry pulse
✔✔Manifestations of empty heat - ✔✔Feeling of heat in the pm, dry mouth w/ desire for
small sips,Dry throat at night, night sweating, feeling of heat in chest, palms and sides.
Dry stool, scanty dark urine, floating - empty and rapid pulse, red tongue w/o coating
*get from our work and/or irregular eating.
,✔✔manifestations of full heat - ✔✔Thirst, feeling of heat, mental restlessness, red face ,
dry stools, scanty dark urine, rapid - full pulse, red tongue with yellow coating.
✔✔exterior cold pattern - ✔✔slight fever, pronounced aversion to cold, severe aches in
the body, severe stiff neck, no sweating, no thirst, floating - tight pulse, thin white tongue
coating.
✔✔exterior heat pattern - ✔✔Aversion to cold
fever
slight sweating
thirst
floating - rapid pulse
thin white coating on tongue sometimes with redness.
✔✔Exterior full pattern - ✔✔fever
no sweating
severe body aches
aversion to cold
floating tight pulse w/ thin white tongue coating
✔✔exterior EMPTY pattern - ✔✔Slight or no fever
Sweating
Aversion to wind
Slight body aches
Floating slow pulse
✔✔Main factors in differentiating empty and full exterior conditions. - ✔✔Empty:
Sweating, slow pulse, mild body aches.
Full: No sweating, tight pulse, Severe body aches.
✔✔The 8 principles used to identify the location and nature of disharmony in all
patients. - ✔✔♦ Interior/Exterior
♦Hot/Cold
♦Full/Empty
♦Yin/Yang
✔✔The space between the skin and muscles is known as _________. - ✔✔Con Li
✔✔The 2 organs should have ascending Qi movement - ✔✔Liver & Spleen
✔✔4 Fundamental movements of Qi and correspondence to yin/yang - ✔✔Ascending A
yang movement
Descending Yin
Exiting Yang
, Entering Yin
✔✔Principles of treatment for Yin/Yang disorders - ✔✔If excess Yang(do NOT use
moxa)----You must clear that.
If deficient yang(Use moxa)----Tonify Yang
In excess of Yin(use moxa)----You must expel cold.
In deficient Yin(do NOT use moxa)----Youmust nourish yin.
✔✔Yin/Yang and cold/heat and full/empty correspondence - ✔✔Excess Yang----Full
heat
Deficient Yang----Empty-Cold
Excess Yin----Full-Cold
Deficient Yin----Empty-heat
✔✔A full condition is characterized by ___(1)___ and empty condition is characterized
by ___(2)___ - ✔✔(1) Presence of a pathogenic factor
(2) Deficiency of upright Qi
✔✔Symptoms of heat - ✔✔Red face, Thirst, Rapid pulse, Mental restlessness, Red
tongue
✔✔Symptoms of phlegm - ✔✔Dark eye sockets
Sallow complexion
Swollen body
Puffy face
Greasy skin
Sweaty
Enlarged fingers/toes
✔✔________ is a yin pathogenic factor and it injures Yang - ✔✔Phlegm
✔✔Symptoms of cold - ✔✔Crampy type pain
Pain alleviated by heat
no thirst
thin clear discharges
Bright white complexion
White tongue coating
Slow pulse
✔✔Symptoms of dampness - ✔✔Feeling of fullness/heaviness, lethargy, turbid urine,
excessive vaginal discharge, muscle aches, sinus problems, sticky taste/tongue,
slippery/soggy pulse.
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔the nature of fire - ✔✔rise to the head, dry fluids, injure blood and yin, cause
bleeding, affect the mind
✔✔full fire vs empty fire - ✔✔full is all the time
empty is mostly pm
✔✔greater yang stage - ✔✔aversion to cold, headache and stiff neck, floating pulse
✔✔bright yang channel pattern - ✔✔high fever, profuse sweating, intense thirst, red
face, feeling of heat, irritability, delerium, red tongue with yellow coating, overflowing
rapid pulse
✔✔bright yang organ pattern - ✔✔high fever worse in pm, profuse sweating, sweating
of limbs, abdominal fullness and pain, constipation, dry stools, thirst, dark urine, red
tongue with thick yellow coat, deep full slippery rapid pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of lesser yang - ✔✔alternations of hot/cold, bitter taste, dry
throat, blurred vision, hypochondrial fullness/distension, no desire to eat/drink, irritability,
nausea, vomiting, unilateral thin white tongue coat, wiry-fine pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of greater yin - ✔✔pathology of spleen yang deficiency,
abdominal fullness, feeling cold, vomiting, no appetite, diahrhea, no thirst, tiredness,
pale tongue with sticky white coat, deep-weak-slow pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of lesser yin cold transformation - ✔✔pathology of kidney
yang deficiency, chills, feeling of cold, lying with body curled, listlessness, desire to
sleep, cold limbs, diaherhea, no thirst, frequent pale urination, pale and wet tongue with
white coat, deep weak slow pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of lesser yin heat transformation - ✔✔pathology of kidney yin
deficiency, feeling of heat, irritability, insomnia, dry mouth and throat at night, dark urine,
night sweat, red tongue w/o coating, fine-rapid pulse
✔✔clinical manifestations of terminal yin - ✔✔persistent thirst, feeling of energy rising to
the chest, pain/heat sensation in heart region, hungry but no desire to eat, cold limbs,
diahrhea, vomiting, vomiting of roundworms, wiry pulse
✔✔Manifestations of empty heat - ✔✔Feeling of heat in the pm, dry mouth w/ desire for
small sips,Dry throat at night, night sweating, feeling of heat in chest, palms and sides.
Dry stool, scanty dark urine, floating - empty and rapid pulse, red tongue w/o coating
*get from our work and/or irregular eating.
,✔✔manifestations of full heat - ✔✔Thirst, feeling of heat, mental restlessness, red face ,
dry stools, scanty dark urine, rapid - full pulse, red tongue with yellow coating.
✔✔exterior cold pattern - ✔✔slight fever, pronounced aversion to cold, severe aches in
the body, severe stiff neck, no sweating, no thirst, floating - tight pulse, thin white tongue
coating.
✔✔exterior heat pattern - ✔✔Aversion to cold
fever
slight sweating
thirst
floating - rapid pulse
thin white coating on tongue sometimes with redness.
✔✔Exterior full pattern - ✔✔fever
no sweating
severe body aches
aversion to cold
floating tight pulse w/ thin white tongue coating
✔✔exterior EMPTY pattern - ✔✔Slight or no fever
Sweating
Aversion to wind
Slight body aches
Floating slow pulse
✔✔Main factors in differentiating empty and full exterior conditions. - ✔✔Empty:
Sweating, slow pulse, mild body aches.
Full: No sweating, tight pulse, Severe body aches.
✔✔The 8 principles used to identify the location and nature of disharmony in all
patients. - ✔✔♦ Interior/Exterior
♦Hot/Cold
♦Full/Empty
♦Yin/Yang
✔✔The space between the skin and muscles is known as _________. - ✔✔Con Li
✔✔The 2 organs should have ascending Qi movement - ✔✔Liver & Spleen
✔✔4 Fundamental movements of Qi and correspondence to yin/yang - ✔✔Ascending A
yang movement
Descending Yin
Exiting Yang
, Entering Yin
✔✔Principles of treatment for Yin/Yang disorders - ✔✔If excess Yang(do NOT use
moxa)----You must clear that.
If deficient yang(Use moxa)----Tonify Yang
In excess of Yin(use moxa)----You must expel cold.
In deficient Yin(do NOT use moxa)----Youmust nourish yin.
✔✔Yin/Yang and cold/heat and full/empty correspondence - ✔✔Excess Yang----Full
heat
Deficient Yang----Empty-Cold
Excess Yin----Full-Cold
Deficient Yin----Empty-heat
✔✔A full condition is characterized by ___(1)___ and empty condition is characterized
by ___(2)___ - ✔✔(1) Presence of a pathogenic factor
(2) Deficiency of upright Qi
✔✔Symptoms of heat - ✔✔Red face, Thirst, Rapid pulse, Mental restlessness, Red
tongue
✔✔Symptoms of phlegm - ✔✔Dark eye sockets
Sallow complexion
Swollen body
Puffy face
Greasy skin
Sweaty
Enlarged fingers/toes
✔✔________ is a yin pathogenic factor and it injures Yang - ✔✔Phlegm
✔✔Symptoms of cold - ✔✔Crampy type pain
Pain alleviated by heat
no thirst
thin clear discharges
Bright white complexion
White tongue coating
Slow pulse
✔✔Symptoms of dampness - ✔✔Feeling of fullness/heaviness, lethargy, turbid urine,
excessive vaginal discharge, muscle aches, sinus problems, sticky taste/tongue,
slippery/soggy pulse.
