The original animal is the Black-Tail Snake (Zaocys dhumnades (Cantor)), distributed in East China, South China, Southwest China, and regions such as Hunan, Hubei, Shanxi, and Hebei. The medicinal material is produced in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hubei, Anhui, Sichuan, and other areas. It is captured between April and November. After capture, the snake is killed by being thrown to the ground, its abdomen is cut open to remove the internal organs, and it is coiled into a circular shape. It is then dried over a wood fire, frequently turned during the smoking process until the surface turns slightly black, and then sun-dried or kiln-dried. The best quality specimens are those with intact heads and tails, black-brown outer skin, yellow-white inner flesh, a ridged back, and a firm body.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Sweet and salty, neutral.

• Yaoxing Lun: "sweet, neutral, slightly toxic."
• Kaibao Bencao: "nontoxic."
• Yuqiu Yaojie : "Salty, neutral."
• Leigong Paozhi Yaoxing Jie: "Act on lung and spleen channels."

bubble_chart Efficacy

Dispelling wind, dredging collaterals, and calming fright.

bubble_chart Indications

Treats wind-dampness obstinate impediment, numbness of skin, bone and joint subcutaneous nodes, hemiplegia, rubella scabies, leprosy, fright epilepsy, tetanus, and infantile paralysis.

1. Combined with little multibanded krait, it expels wind and dredges collaterals, calms fright and stops convulsions, balancing strength and flexibility, effective for wind-cold-dampness impediment, fright epilepsy convulsion, and other conditions.
2. Combined with Saposhnikovia Root, it is most effective for wind-cold-dampness impediment.
3. Combined with Gastrodia Tuber, it dispels wind and calms fright with enhanced efficacy, suitable for infantile convulsion, head wind, wind epilepsy, and other conditions.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. From Yaoxing Lun.
2. Kaibao Bencao: "Black-Tail Snake, with three ridges on its back, black as lacquer, of a gentle nature, does not bite. In Jiangdong, there is a black-tip snake that can constrict things to death, similar to its kind. It is found in Shangluo Mountain."
3. Bencao Tujing: "Black-Tail Snake, now found in the mountains of Qizhou and Huangzhou. It often smells the fragrance of flowers in reed thickets and also inhales with the south wind. It is very difficult to catch, often found on reed branches, and even when it dies, its eyes do not sink. Those weighing three fen to one liang are considered the best, while larger ones are heavier but less potent."
4. Materia Medica Xingyi: "Black-Tail Snake, with a long and thin tail, is best if it can pass through one hundred small copper coins. Some are over ten feet long. Among snakes, this one is used most in medicine. The Black-Tail Snake has a high ridge, commonly known as the sword-ridge black-tail."
5. Gangmu: "There are two types of Black-Tail Snake: one with a sword-ridge and a thin tail is superior; the other is large, without a sword-ridge and with a thick tail, called the wind-tip snake, which can also treat wind ailments but is less potent."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

For internal use: decoct in water, 1.5-4 qian; soak in wine or dry and grind into powder to make pills or powder. For external use: burn to ash and mix for application.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Those with blood deficiency producing wind should avoid using it. Benjing Fengyuan: "Avoid contact with ironware."

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

Contains collagen, protein, fat, etc.