Abstract
This study examines the variation in diagrams of the kidney, and the effects on location of the Life Gate as a result. My study analyzes diagrams of kidney form and location, such as appearance, the vertebral spine, ShenXi, and "Life Gate", and also explores the causes for such variations. The kidney is commonly described as having the shape of a bean, which throughout medical history has showed almost no variation. The spine was initially described with a total of 21 vertebrae, and later with a range of 19-25 vertebrae. Regarding the height of kidney in relationship to the spine, it was initially described as beginning at the 14th vertebrae, and later changed to the 15th or 17th vertebrae. However, there have been no changes in the perception of the height of kidney. Initially, the location of the Life Gate could not be identified. Three different suggestions of its location were found throughout historical literature, including: (1) at or within the right kidney; (2) between two kidneys; and (3) between 14th-15th spine. There were also variations noted in the process of copying diagrams of kidney in many books not only because the work of copying was not precise, but also because each medical practitioner had a different interpretation of the kidney's form and function in Traditional Korean and Chinese Medicine. It appears that some practitioners may have been influenced by their understandings of theory of Life Gate.
