Tortoise Shell(Gui jia)

This medicinal is the tergum and breastplate of the animal Chinemys reevesii(Gray)(Fam.Testudinidae).The animal can be captured all the year round.After it is killed or scaled to death with boiling water,its carapace is taken and cleared of remnant flesh.After which it is dried by naturak sunlight,soaked with vinegar and stir-baked with sand.

Medicinal Properties:salty,sweet and slightly cold.

Meridian Tropism:liver,kidney and heart meridians.

Medicinal Efficacies:Nourish yin and suppress yang;tonify kidney and strengthen bones;nourish blood and replenish heart.

Usage and Dosage: 9~24g,decoct first.Stir-baked with sand and soaked with vinegar,its active ingredients are easily to be decocted out,its ordorus smell can be removed,and it is easier to be ground into powder and convenient for making preparation.