Comparison of Sasang Constitutional Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda

Table 1

General characteristics of the constitutional types in Ayurveda and SCM.

Ayurvedic body type (prakriti) [7]			Distinctive factors		Sasang constitutional type [8]
Vatta	Pitta	Kapha			TY	SY	TE	SE
			Physical
Lean	Medium	Well built	Physique		Developed in the nape area,slender waist	Developed in the chest area, small hip	Developed in the waist area, frail nape	Developed in the hip area, weak chest
Dry, dark, with superficial veins and tendons	Bright skin with moles	Oily, whitish	Skin texture		Slippery	Slippery, thin	Thick, stiff, rough	Soft, feeble, smooth
Rough, scanty	Soft, brown, grays early or bald	Thick, black, lustrous	Hair*	Facial features**	Big and round face, wide forehead, large ears	Small, round and bulging face, twinkling eyes, high and pointy nose, thin and small lips	Wide jaw, wide distance between eyebrows, big eyes, thick ears, thick lips	Ellipsoid face, less predominant forehead, low upper eyelids, big ear lobes, small nose
Dry, thin, small	Pink, soft	Thick, oily, large	Nails*	Voice**	Powerful, loud, clear ringing voice	High pitched, plain, talkative	Low pitched, powerful, vague	Weak, powerless, light and clear
			Physiological
Inconsistent	High	Low	Appetite		Moderate	Good	Good, overeating	Poor, dyspeptic
Demands small quantity, eats fast	Demands large quantity, eats frequently	Eats less and slowly	Eating habit		Moderate	Eats fast	Requires large quantity	Requires small quantity, eats slowly
Dry, hard stool, constipation tendency	Loose stool, irritable tendency	Solid, oily stool	Bowel movement		Constipated	Constipated	No specific tendency	Soft stool, frequent
Inconsistent	High	Low	Digestion rate		Good	Good	Good	Low
Fast and rapid	Moderate	Slow	Movements		Quick	Moderate	Slow	Slow
N°	N°	N°	Sweating**		Moderate	Moderate	Profuse	Mild
N°	N°	N°	Sign of health**		Smooth urination	Easy defecation	Brisk perspiration	Comfortable digestion
			Psychological
Inconsistent	Intelligent	Slow, dull	Mental nature		Progressive	Unstable, hot tempered	Gentle, materialistic	Meticulous, gentle, pessimistic

*Factors of concern only in the Ayurvedic determination of the constitution. **Factors of concern only in the SCM determination of the constitution. N°, no information.