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Bladder: the bladder is responsible for storing and excreting urine. As previously discussed, the lungs, spleen and kidneys all have roles in fluid metabolism and regulating the water distribution in the body. The "turbid' water collected by the kidneys that cannot be reused by the body is sent to the bladder for excretion as urine. TCM describes this function as "vaporization" of urine in the bladder. Disharmony of the bladder can lead to urinary problems such as incontinence or difficult urination. Kidney function complements bladder function so a problem with the bladder often indicates kidney problems as well.
(www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/bladdersixyangorgans.html)
Gall Bladder: a sac located under the liver. It stores and concentrates bile produced in the liver. Bile aids in the digestion of fats, and is released from the gallbladder into the upper small intestine (duodenum) in response to food (especially fats). Conditions which slow or obstruct the flow of bile out of the gallbladder result in gallbladder disease.
(www.healthcentral.com/ency/408/001138.html)
Heart: an organ located between your lungs in the middle of your chest, behind and slightly to the left of your breastbone (sternum). A double-layered membrane called the pericardium surrounds your heart like a sac. The outer layer of the pericardium surrounds the roots of your heart's major blood vessels and is attached by ligaments to your spinal column, diaphragm, and other parts of your body. The inner layer of the pericardium is attached to the heart muscle. A coating of fluid separates the two layers of membrane, letting the heart move as it beats, yet still be attached to your body. The heart weighs between 7 and 15 ounces (200 to 425 grams) and is a little larger than the size of your fist. By the end of a long life, a person's heart may have beat (expanded and contracted) more than 3.5 billion times. In fact, each day, the average heart beats 100,000 times, pumping about 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of blood.
(http://texasheart.org)
Kidney: the human body has two, each of which is about the size of your fist. They are located in the middle of your back, just below your rib cage, on either side of your spine. Your kidneys weigh about 0.5 percent of your total body weight. Although the kidneys are small organs by weight, they receive a huge amount – 20 percent – of the blood pumped by the heart. The large blood supply to your kidneys enables them to do the following tasks: regulate the composition of your blood, keep the concentrations of various ions and other important substances constant, keep the volume of water in your body constant, remove wastes from your body (urea, ammonia, drugs, toxic substances), keep the acid/base concentration of your blood constant, help regulate your blood pressure, stimulate the making of red blood cells, and maintain your body's calcium levels.
(http://health.howstuffworks.com/kidney.htm)
Liver: the largest glandular organ of the body. It weighs about 3 lb (1.36 kg). It is reddish brown in color and is divided into four lobes of unequal size and shape. The liver lies on the right side of the abdominal cavity beneath the diaphragm. Blood is carried to the liver via two large vessels called the hepatic artery and the portal vein. The heptic artery carries oxygen-rich blood from the aorta (a major vessel in the heart). The portal vein carries blood containing digested food from the small intestine. These blood vessels subdivide in the liver repeatedly, terminating in very small capillaries. Each capillary leads to a lobule. Liver tissue is composed of thousands of lobules, and each lobule is made up of hepatic cells, the basic metabolic cells of the liver.
(www.mamashealth.com/organs/liver.asp)
Ovaries: a pair of organs located in a woman's pelvis. There's usually one on each side of the uterus, each about the size and shape of a walnut. The ovaries produce the female hormones estrogen and progesterone (Read about "Endocrine System"), which help regulate a woman's menstrual cycle and produce testosterone, which helps with the sex drive. The ovaries also contain a woman's egg cells. Eggs grow, develop, and mature in the follicles of the ovaries and then are released during ovulation, part of the monthly menstrual cycle that occurs during the childbearing years.
(www.stayinginshape.com/3chsbuffalo/libv/c03.shtml)
Small Intestine: the longest section of the digestive tube. It consists of three segments forming a passage from the pylorus to the large intestine: The duodenum: a short section that receives secretions from the pancreas and liver via the pancreatic and common bile ducts. The jejunum: considered to be roughly 40% of the small gut in man, but closer to 90% in animals. The ileum empties into the large intestine; considered to be about 60% of the intestine in man, but veterinary anatomists usually refer to it as being only the short terminal section of the small intestine. In most animals, the length of the small intestine is roughly 3.5 times body length - your small intestine, or that of a large dog, is about 6 meters in length. Although precise boundaries between these three segments of bowel are not observed grossly or microscopically, there are histologic differences among duodenum, jejunum and ileum.
(www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/anatomy.html)
Spleen: an organ that creates lymphocytes for the destruction and recycling of old red-blood cells. The spleen is also a blood reservoir. It supplies the body with blood in emergencies such as a bad cut. The spleen is also the location where white blood cells trap organisms. The spleen is shaped like a loose fist and is tucked under the left side of the diaphragm. The average weight of an adult spleen is 0.44 lbs. During and after digestion, the size of the spleen increases. Infection of malaria or mono can also cause the spleen to increase in size.
(www.mamashealth.com/organs/spleen.asp)
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