The "Xiang" in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contains various meanings such as phenomena, image and symbols. When we consider it as a thinking mode, "Xiang" permeates into all TCM aspects from natural phenomena, anatomical structures of human tissues to physiological functions as well as pathological manifestations of zang-fu organs. In addition, it may have profound but different connotations. The authors of this article analyzed the "Xiang" in TCM according to the "Xiang" of nature, "Xiang" of zang-organs, "Xiang" of spirit, "Xiang" of pulse (pulse conditions) and "Xiang" of tongue (tongue conditions).

To study the pulse diagram parameters of subjects with subhealth state and to find the pulse parameters for subhealth state evaluation.

The concept and significance of readiness for hospital discharge, measuring tools, application status, shortcomings and prospects of readiness for hospital discharge among patients with chronic diseases were reviewed in this article, with attempts to draw more attention to the readiness for hospital discharge among patients with chronic diseases in clinical practice and provide theoretical basis for forming the intervention plan suitable for China.

Objective To understand the hospital discharge readiness and discharge instruction quality in chronic disease patients and to analyze the correlation between them. Methods Totals of 602 chronic disease patients of related departments from 7 ClassⅢGrade A hospitals in Shanghai were selected by convenience sampling. All of them were investigated with the general information questionnaire, Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS) and Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale (QDTS), and their data were analyzed. Results Among those patients, the scores of hospital discharge readiness and discharge instruction quality were (8.01±1.41) and (8.65±1.29) out of 10 respectively. The score of hospital discharge readiness had a positive correlation with the score of discharge instruction quality with a statistical difference (r=0.507, P＜ 0.01). Conclusions Hospital discharge readiness and discharge instruction quality of chronic disease patients are all in high levels and with a positive correlation. Nurses should enrich the content of discharge instruction to improve the quality of discharge instruction by appropriate instruction skills and to improve the hospital discharge readiness.