The Spleen of the Central Earth: A Non-Anatomical Material-Energy Transport and Transformation Center System of the Human Body -- An Interpretation of the Nature of the Spleen in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Abridged Version)

Objective To resolve the century-long controversy over the anatomical entity of the spleen in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and construct a systematic modern interpretation hypothesis for the nature of the TCM spleen from the original perspective, combined with embryogenesis, genetics and systems science. Methods Inspired by the academic research of Professor Jin Riguang on the correlation between the 8-cell stage of the embryo and the meridian system of TCM, this study advances the research perspective to the 4-cell stage of the fertilized egg, and constructs a complete theoretical model of the life evolution of the TCM spleen from five dimensions: etymological textual research, congenital inheritance, embryogenesis, field characteristics, and water system evolution. Results This study clarifies that the spleen in TCM is not a single immune organ in anatomy. Its original etymological meaning is "bearing, tonifying and nourishing", and its essence is the functional system of the material-energy-fluid transport and transformation center of the human body. For the first time, this study puts forward the hypothesis that the embryonic origin of the TCM spleen may correspond to the central cavity of the smallest tetrahedron at the 4-cell stage of the fertilized egg, and its congenital origin can be traced back to the intracellular fluid microenvironment of the maternal oogonia, which is the congenital basis and core supply end of the dual information systems of the human meridian water network and neural network. Conclusion This study is the first to systematically construct a theoretical system of the correlation between the 4-cell stage embryonic structure and the original origin of the TCM spleen, filling the research gap in the correlation between early embryonic development and the original origin of TCM viscera. It forms a complete context of "viscera origin - meridian development" with the pioneering research of Professor Jin Riguang on the 8-cell stage and meridian system, and provides a new paradigm based on local context and returning to the origin for the modern interpretation of the TCM viscera manifestation theory.