Blood Stasis

Blood stasis is a pattern concept in traditional East Asian medicine. It is not the same as a blood clot, bruise, or a literal collection of old or dead blood.

A traditional medicine concept

Traditional medicine has used blood stasis as a framework for grouping multiple signs and symptoms and forming a treatment principle. It belongs to that diagnostic system rather than naming a structure that can be directly seen in the blood.

An illustration separating the traditional concept of blood stasis from a medical blood clot
Blood stasis is a traditional medicine concept, not a blood clot.

Blood clots and bruises

A blood clot is a mass of coagulated blood inside a vessel. A bruise develops when blood leaks into tissue after small vessels are damaged. Neither definition is interchangeable with traditional blood stasis.

Use in esthetics

Red or purple marks after gua sha or cupping are sometimes described as blood stasis leaving the body. The marks do not diagnose blood stasis, and hands-on care should not be presented as removing it.

Related terms

  • Meridians: A traditional medicine framework of channels and networks.
  • Acupoints: Named points in traditional medicine.
  • Blood clot: Coagulated blood formed within a vessel.
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Park Jeong-eun, owner of Meccrom Seongsu

Park Jeong-eun

Owner, Meccrom Seongsu

Park Jeong-eun is the owner of Meccrom Seongsu. With 10 years of experience in skin and body care, she writes about hands-on care for facial contours, body balance, lymphatic care, and puffiness from a whole-body perspective.

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