SECOND PART

ZU REFLEX MORPHOLOGY

In this part of the book we shall consider colour, heat, bony protuberances, creases, wrinkles, and morphological, structural and articular distortions, in relation to the reflex areas of the foot already identified.
The first part of the book dealt with the identification and perception of the reflex areas in a physical and tactile sense. We needed to close our eyes and allow our fingers to “see”.
We have evidenced the reflex areas in relation to the bones, but since bones are not visible in a normal foot it is important to be able to identify the points with sensitive, skilled manual exploration.
The recommendation I continue to make is to learn to identify the reflex points with eyes closed. When I say eyes closed, I mean it in the literal sense of the word.
Closing our eyes is important, at least at the beginning of our practice. Looking away is not enough, since your brain will register the images which the eyes see and these images will be superimposed over the images perceived through touch which your brain registers. This part of the book concerns the process of observing mainly, only in small part the process of touching.
Everything on the feet which you notice as being different from an ideal foot corresponds to some kind of anomaly in the reflex organ. Thus, if a swelling appears, in other words something extra compared to an ideal foot, this signifies the presence of a dilation, swelling or inflammation in the corresponding organ.
Let us start from the top and work downwards in order to memorize more easily in an organic way the corresponding reflex areas.

Head

In the first part of this book we said that the hallux, or big toe, corresponded to the bony structure of the cranium, whose details we analyzed. Let us now, through touch perception, consider the fleshy part of the big toe, drawing attention to its shape, and the shape of the nail, and to the corresponding anomalies and pathologies. Let us divide the big toe into two parts: the hard, bony part, already associated with the cranium, and the fleshy, and therefore soft part, which by association corresponds to the soft part of the head, therefore to the brain and its functioning. A rapid visual examination of the big toe-head will enable us to classify it as either large, hard, soft, whitish, empty, valgus, overlapping or underlying the second toe.

Hard big toe

A big toe which is large, red and hard gives a sense of fullness at the touch. This already indicates that the person under examination experiences symptoms associated with high endocranial pressure which may be expressed verbally as «I’ve got my head full», «My head’s bursting», «I feel as if there’s a tight band around my head», or similar phrases which convey the idea of something that is about to explode, of a situation that is tending to expand, an expansion held in check or restricted by the containing rigidity of the cranium. Here, then, is a manifestation of high endocranial pressure.

People who have this kind of big toe (hard, large, full) should consider themselves fortunate if they suffer from epistaxis (nosebleed) or endocular haemorrhages caused by the rupture of blood vessels, these too being symptoms of high endocranial pressure. They would be far less fortunate, of course, if instead of being released in the nose or the eye the pressure was released by a small blood vessel inside the cranium, causing a cerebral haemorrhage.

A vein or arteriole which produces a haemorrhagic phenomenon becomes the weak link in a chain which broke when subjected to strain. In situations of particular tension, physical or emotional stress, our whole being experiences stresses which our organism is not always capable of responding to adequately. The strain of daily life is often the culprit. The frenetic life we lead in our advanced technological society often makes us unaware of symptoms which our body, in the form of messages, is sending us continually. Sometimes the results are tragic. When you hear it said of a person who has had a stroke or a heart attack, «he was so well until just a short time ago», evidently a short time ago he was well only apparently.

Hard right and left big toe

If the right big toe looks larger, harder and stiffer than the left big toe it means that the corresponding cerebral hemisphere (i.e. the left hemisphere), is ailing more. The left cerebral hemisphere controls the right side of our body; the right cerebral hemisphere controls the left side of our body. The right cerebral hemisphere regulates the instinctive, emotional, feminine part of our being, the functions of dreaming and creativity; it is that part which a person uses more in the early years of life.

The left cerebral hemisphere regulates the functions relating to rational, logical, more masculine activity. We begin to use it more obviously when we make the move from infant’s to primary school, when associative and mathematical functions like “one and one is two” and the association of syllables to compose words start to become a more constant activity.

In cephalalgic manifestations (headaches) the symbology of language, being something that we carry within ourselves as archetypal, therefore profoundly rooted in us, gives us enormous potential for interpreting, demonstrating, comparing and supporting what we observe through the feet.

Throbbing headache

Returning to the full big toe and to that framework of previously mentioned symptomatic manifestations, if we induce the patient to a detailed symbological interpretation of his symptoms we can proceed to a further symptomatic diversification of that bursting head, the head the patient tends to hold between his hands.

We should ask the patient if his headache is throbbing or continuous. If the headache pulsates (the word comes from the Latin pulsus, meaning “to beat”), this means that it is caused by high endocranial pressure due for example to the compression of an artery. This compression may be occurring in some place outside the cranium, like the neck, and therefore have a cervical origin. The arterial compression in turn may be caused by the swelling or contraction of muscles in the neck, by swollen or tumefied lymph-nodes, by stagnant lymph, by the squeezing of the nerve roots which depart from the cervical vertebrae. Arterial blood is pumped from the heart to the extremities. If arteries retain their elasticity, they compensate the systolic thrust; but if they are hard, and here is another possible cause, if they are potentially sclerotic, they will be unable to compensate the thrust which the blood receives from the heart and so the pressure inside the arterial walls will increase with the consequent symptom of pulsus, beating.

A throbbing headache, in brief, can therefore be attributed to arterial compression.

Constant headache

If, on the other hand, the headache manifests as a constant, dull, full, all-over pain, already by diversifying the symptom we necessarily diversify its aetiology and pathology.
With a continuous, constant headache, the symptom should no longer be associated with arterial compression, and therefore to an impeded flow of blood to the brain, but rather to a situation of back-flow of blood from the brain.
The cause remains the same, compression, but in this instance the compression is venous.
The passage of veins is more superficial than the passage of arteries.

The condition of the full big toe is open to further symptomatic diversification: from cephalea, a headache affecting the whole head, we pass to migraine.
The word “migraine” comes from the Latin hemicranium, the prefix signifying half; therefore if a person has a migraine affecting the right side or the left side, one cerebral hemisphere or the other is affected with the compromise and suffering of their respective functions, mentioned above.

Soft big toe

Let us proceed to the other extreme, to the big toe which is soft, empty and pale in colour.
The person may describe his symptoms as «my head feels empty», «my head is in the clouds», or «my head feels full of air», feelings of emptiness, just as the big toe is empty, attributable to a condition of low endocranial pressure, and therefore to a reduced flow of blood to the brain, with all its consequences.

Decentralized dermoglyph

When the dermoglyph of a big toe is displaced towards the second toe, the fleshy part looks like a protruberance which sometimes sticks out so much that it completely covers the second toe and partially the third. From the smallest to the most evident, these symptoms indicate the extent of problems associated with the loss of memory.

This particular symptom, being a form of prolapse of that fleshy part of the big toe already associated with the soft part of the head, and more specifically the brain, might be verbalized as «my head feels mushy». Loss of memory is also related either to the right brain or to the left brain, and therefore to problems regarding either the emotional sphere or the rational sphere. In any case it is almost always related to recent memory, hardly ever to old or distant memories which are deeply rooted in us.

Pointed dermoglyph

In some adults the dermoglyph is clearly defined, pointed and protruding. I have noticed that distinct traces of an “infantile” character persist in these subjects.

In fact, a protruding, pointed dermoglyph, both in the fingers and toes, is characteristic of babies, since in adults it tends to diminish until the pulp of the digit becomes flat.

Emotional lines

Some big toes have one, two or even three small wrinkles, small lines running in a more or less vertical direction.
From the answers I have received from these subjects under examination I have deduced and codified emotional states relating to experiences that have left deep marks on their psyche.

One woman I treated had her left big toe divided by a deep groove, as if her cerebral hemisphere had been divided cleanly in two parts. When I asked her whether her emotional life had suffered a trauma or had been separated cleanly in two parts she replied simply that the man she was with now was her second husband.
She had been widowed, and then remarried, and her big toe had somatized these two important periods marked by two figures emotionally important to her.

I later treated a woman who had two deep lines on her right big toe. When I asked her whether her rational sphere, the sphere associated with work, had been divided as if into three distinct periods, she replied that she had had three different jobs: she had been a housewife, a dressmaker and finally a caretaker.

I have mentioned only these two particularly significant examples because these lines on the big toes were all fairly evident. However, all conditions which appear anomalous compared to an ideal big toe should be taken into consideration.

Therefore, if you see vertical lines on the big toe, the meaning remains the same. If they are superficial they will correspond to situations experienced in a less profound way.

Fossettes on the big toe

A female friend whose feet I examined had two distinct grooves on the right big toe in the area corresponding to the skull cap. When I asked her if she had by any chance damaged her scalp she replied that she had suffered serious head injuries in a road accident which necessitated a large number of stitches.

Callosity on the big toe

If the big toe manifests a callosity in the medial area, the part which is most in contact with the shoe, it indicates that the father imposed limits in the development of the subject’s personality.
If the callosity is on the left big toe it signifies that the subject has not yet cut the umbilical cord that links him to his father.
For a child, the ideal or archetypal father should represent authority and leadership, should be the “head”, the person who leads the family. If as such the father is too strong or repressive, or conversely if he fails to give a sense of authority, the child will suffer limitations in the development of his personality. A father should be authoritative but in the right way.

If we find the callosity on both the left big toe and the right big toe it signifies that the umbilical cord with the father-authority concept has not been cut. If the callosity on the right big toe is less than that on the left big toe it means that the subject is improving, or rather gradually reconciling himself with his own sense of authority, with his masculinity and with institutionalized authority: father, master, manager, headmaster, functionary, state, institution. If the callosity on the right big toe is greater, it means that these problems not only have not been solved but are actually becoming more accentuated. If the callosity is on the right foot only it means that the problems cannot be traced to childhood but developed during adulthood: the father, therefore, strictly speaking will not be the direct cause.

It is worth specifying here that we cannot discover the nature of a father’s educational approach towards his child through the feet, but we can find out what the subject has experienced towards his father. It happens, for example, that a person will claim that it was the mother who created problems, and we explain to him that the quarrel, the row, in short the direct confrontation, being a Yang manifestation, an outward expression, has the effect of consuming that trauma; once consumed, the id, our unconscious, no longer needs to somatize it.

It is what we do not live at a conscious level that is somatized, but with the following important distinction: inevitably, an adult person will no longer have the same type of relationship with his father as when he was a child, and will therefore express the conflictuality of his masculinity and his concept of authority in all those situations which, or with people who, in some way limit his freedom. If the callosity is only on the left big toe, it is important whether the subject in question is a man or a woman. This callosity will be much more serious in the case of a man than a woman, since it concerns the affirmation of his male identity: a male in conflict with the male inside him. If this callosity appears on the feet of a woman the problem is not as serious; the woman would of course experience a conflictual and not complementary relationship with her male side, but this would be less of a problem for her than a conflict with her own female archetype.

Callosity on the first-second phalange of the big toe

Sometimes this callosity continues under the first-second phalange articulation, corresponding therefore to the atlas-axis articulation. A callosity is a hardened layer which reduces the elasticity of the skin, but at the same time protects the hypersensitivity of the underlying nerve endings. A rigidity in the area of the first-second phalange articulation of the big toe will therefore correspond to a rigidity of the cranium-first cervical vertebra articulation.

An extrapolation of this interpretation is that in the subject in question the high part of the neck is particularly sensitive and defends itself by developing a nuchal rigidity, corrresponding reflexologically to the first-second phalange articulation of the big toe.

Corns and callosities

Unlike corns, which have a main root reaching the nerve endings, thus causing pain, callosities are not painful, being formed gradually and growing thicker as a result of the constant rubbing of the skin against the shoe. If the rubbing occurs over a relatively short period of time, as happens with a new pair of shoes or a pair of hiking boots, the manifestation will be acute, i.e; the formation of a phlyctena, more commonly known as a blister. If we stimulate the reflex area of this callosity with a specific massage there will be no immediate, evident symptomatic response, neither irritation nor pain, but if we continue to massage for some seconds the patient will suddenly feel a sharp, stinging pain. The rapid massage applied with the tip of the thumb will have generated short mechanical waves, which, transmitted to the underlying sensitive nerve endings protected by the callosity, produce the sharp pain.

Ingrown big toe nail

There are two jing points on the big toe: Yinbai, or point 1 of the spleen meridian, situated on the medial ungual corner, the one in direct contact with the shoe, and Dadun, or point 1 of the liver meridian, situated on the external ungual corner, in contact with the second toe. If the nail is potentially or pathologically ingrown on one side of the big toe, there will be a disturbance of the path of the corresponding energetic meridian.

Retracted big toe

The big toe is governed by two tendons, superiorly by the tendon of the long extensor muscle of the big toe, and plantarly by the tendon of the long flexor muscle of the big toe, which makes possible the opposite movement. The big toe may be subjected to torsion either in an outward direction or an inward direction. We can clearly see the prominence of the contraction of the long extensor muscle or of the long flexor muscle of the big toe depending on whether the big toe is upturned or downturned, or underlying or overlapping the second toe, or obviously retracted and therefore shorter than the other toes.

We may also observe the arthritic protuberance of the metatarsophalangeal articulation dorsally, laterally and plantarly. An important principle is that bones do not move by themselves but are moved by muscles. When we find a big toe-head retracted, the correspondence with the body will be a head that tends to be drawn back into the thorax.
The cranium is an element of containment and protection. Another element of containment and protection is the rib-cage. Between these two structures lies the neck, represented by the cervical vertebrae.
When, for example, we say «I don’t know...», «maybe...», «let’s wait and see...», «perhaps...», «who knows...», our postural attitude is one of raised shoulders, of drawing the head nearer to the trunk, precisely in order to defend the neck, the most unprotected part of our upper body.
The sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles are mainly responsible for this movement.
Their contraction draws together the cervical vertebrae with the result that the intervertebral discs and the pairs of nerve roots in the neck are compressed.
When, as a result of continual stress, tensions or fears, this posture becomes stabilized, the consequent effect on the muscles will continue as a muscular chain reaction right down to the feet.
The big toe will retract and the flexor muscles of the other toes will contract.
This postural attitude will lead to a condition giving rise to pain in the cervical vertebrae, with direct consequences, like the pains connected with the innervation of the cranium and the cervicobrachial plexus, as well as indirect and/or compensatory pains in other areas of the body.
These principles will be studied in more detail in the chapter on pathologies.

Big toe overlapping and big toe underlying second toe

Let us now consider, in the light of the Five Movements, the relationship between the big toe and the second toe and the meaning of overlapping and underlying positions.
On the medial ungual corner of the big toe, as we know, is the jing point of the spleen-pancreas meridian, Yinbai point 1. On the external ungual corner (the one in proximity with the second toe) is Dadun, jing point 1 of the liver meridian (see the illustration on page 187). The external ungual corner of the second toe is reached by point 45 of the stomach meridian, Lidui, jing point.
The Wood Movement, liver-gall bladder, controls the Earth Movement, spleen-pancreas-stomach, in other words, liver-gall bladder is the grandfather of spleen-pancreas-stomach.
If this natural law is taken to the extreme the grandfather will no longer limit himself to exercising a form of control over his grandson, but instead will “suffocate” him, passing from natural control to the pathological concept of supercontrol. If this excessively repressive grandfather obstructs the normal movements of his grandson, the latter will suffer and become ill.

In the relationship between the big toe and the second toe this type of situation is manifested by a form of torsion of the big toe, which, in relation to the horizontal plane will see the jing point of the liver higher and those of the spleen-pancreas and the stomach lower: the jing points of the Earth Movement will therefore be in a state of subjugation.
Let us look at the question from the physiological-chemical point of view. The liver produces bile which is alkaline and the gall bladder stores it; but the liquid contained in the gastric cavity is acid.
If the alkalinity of the bile, entering into circulation, is predominant, the stomach as a result may find itself in a condition of hypoacidity with a reduction in the activity of the gastric juices.

Conversely, if we find that the second toe overlaps the first it means that compared to an ideal horizontal axis joining the two jing points Yinbai and Dadun, the jing points of the spleen-pancreas and the stomach will be higher than the jing point of the liver, which will therefore be covered, in a state of subjugation, by the second toe. In this case it is no longer the grandfather who controls his grandson, but a serious imbalance caused by an over-exuberant grandson making his grandfather despair.
At a chemical level acidity prevails over alkalinity. We find ourselves, therefore, in the presence of a classic case of heartburn or gastric hyperacidity.

Valgus big toe. Seventh cervical vertebra

The causes of a valgus big toe are attributed, in most cases, to unsuitable footwear.
There is nothing more deviant than a phenomenology presented in these terms.
In China, with the first full moon after the completion of the seventh year of age, the feet of young girls were tightly bound in such a way as to inhibit their growth and keep them small (“lotus-flower feet”). With the passing of the years these horrendously deformed feet did in fact stay small.
How is it then that in the west wearing tight shoes makes feet become larger?
Tight shoes only marginally affect the formation of the valgus big toe. We must remember that bones do not move independently but are moved by muscles.
The movements of bones will therefore vary according to which muscle or group of muscles contract mostly — the one above, below, in front, behind, on the right, on the left, surface or deep-lying.

One speaks of the valgus big toe as a hereditary phenomenon. This is also false. It is important to distinguish between that which is inherited, that which involves inheritability, that which is congenital, and newborn pathologies.
Heredity involves a transmission through the genes.
Therefore we can consider stature and eye colour as inherited characteristics, alterations and deformations which our DNA has memorized. Inheritability, a predisposition to inherit, can be seen as a weak link in a chain.
For example, there are one or two diabetic relatives in a family, but the newborn baby shows no signs of diabetes, which may however, though not necessarily, show up at 30, or 40, or 50 or 60 years of age. Why at 30 years and not at 50? Important outside causes, which may also be of psychosomatic origin, can play a crucial role and cause the condition to manifest at one age rather than another.

A stress is enough for the chain, at its maximum tension, to break, and precisely where the weakest link is. If this weak link was represented by the hereditary susceptibility to diabetes or by some other type of disorder associable with this principle, then the subject will manifest the symptoms.
Congenital means “that which comes with birth”, therefore the baby is born with a certain type of disorder. Newborn pathologies are those contracted just after birth, as is the case of a syphilitic mother infecting her baby at the moment of delivery.
Returning to the valgus big toe, therefore, we cannot classify it as a hereditary disorder, but rather as an inheritable disorder. No baby is born with a valgus big toe.

As a result of the contraction of the big toe flexor muscles the first phalange produces a compression on the distal epiphysis of the first metatarsal.
“Pressure generates heat”, states a law of physics.
The heat generated by this compression in turn causes inflammation and consequently the expansion of the synovial fluid contained within the periosteal capsule holding together the metatarsophalangeal articulation of the big toe.

In cases in which the condition is acute, this inflammation manifests with swelling, redness, pain and the limitation of functionality and will be called bursitis. Whenever this liquid is reabsorbed a crystalline precipitation of it is produced which modifies the structure of the head of the first metatarsal and so increases its size.

From the observation of cases studies it has been found that two fundamental conditions exist, being distinct as regards both origin and cause.
People with only one valgus big toe have it on the right foot. If the valgoid condition of the big toe is present on both feet, it will have appeared first on the left foot.
The very high number of cases observed has brought me to this conclusion, a conclusion based on statistics which over the years have always proved consistent and indeed continue to be confirmed.

The reflex area of the valgus big toe corresponds to the projection of the seventh cervical vertebra. T
his vertebra, although belonging to the cervical group, is differentiated from the other six because it is not mobile, and is easily identifiable by its more projecting spinous apophysis. Phrases like «right, now all the responsibility for the family or of the business is on your shoulders!...», or «you’ll need strong shoulders to bear such responsibilities!», remind us of Atlas, the giant who has remained in my memory of childhood because his figure was used as the trade-mark for a type of exercise book in circulation when I was a boy.
That trade-mark showed Atlas holding the world on his shoulders. At times we feel as though the whole world is weighing upon our shoulders.
This feeling encourages us to adopt a stooped posture in which the head is bent forward, the seventh cervical vertebra therefore protrudes, and the shoulders become rounded.
I try to put people in touch with the reasons which, due to the effect of neuromuscular loads and overloads, caused (for example) a valgus big toe to appear on the left foot, by starting with the question: «For how long have you noticed the presence of such a protruding articulation?».
At times the answer is immediate and precise, at times the patient cannot remember when he noticed it for the first time. In such cases I invite him to search in his memory, to try and focus on a period or situation in which the articulation became painful as a result of wearing a new pair of shoes, for example, or a hiking excursion with tight boots or a dance which left its marks on the foot.
In most cases he manages to focus if not on a precise date then approximately the period.
At this point I ask: «What changed in your life in that period to have caused you such a burden of responsibility at an emotional level?». The answers are many and various. «I got married», «My daughter was born», «My father died and my mother came to live with me», «From the time I was a young girl they had me look after my young brother, burdening me with responsibility».
Lying down, these people have a tendency to turn their head to the right, the spinous apophysis protruding to the left compared to the axis of the cranium.
People who have problems connected with a valgus left big toe, relative therfore to an overburdening of responsibility at an emotional level, suffer from a limitation of their instinct. Instinct is not totally controllable.
It cannot be shut up inside a box or stifled, therefore these people will involve their left cerebral hemisphere.
Everything that concerns metabolization and the process of rationalization, of control, will involve work activity, i.e. activity outside the sphere of sentiments, and consequently the valgus big toe will start to appear also on the right foot.
People who have only one valgus big toe, as we have already said, have it on the right foot only.
These people have experienced an overburdening of responsibility at a rational level.
The reasons put forward are often associated with the start of new jobs, or promotion within the same job, or, in young people, the beginning of particularly demanding periods of study.
While people with problems connected with an overburdening of responsibility at an emotional level tend to be involved with everything that surrounds them, people feeling the weight of responsibility in the rational sphere tend not to involve also the sphere of sentiments, indeed, it is in the sphere of sentiments that they find a form of compensation and gratification.
I t is as if these people, having once finished their jobs, were able to close a kind of shutter at a cerebral level and forget their problems, therefore without emotionally involving the rest of their world.
A practical example. If a person has problems in his emotional life, i.e. with his wife or husband, children or lover, worries which are processed by his right cerebral hemisphere, he will be unable to leave these problems at home when he is at work and using his left cerebral hemisphere and they will seriously interfere with his job. Thus, the original valgus big toe that affected only the left foot now starts to affect the right foot too.
Vice versa, people with a valgus big toe on the right foot only are individuals capable of not letting problems associated with an overburdening of responsibility at a rational level enter into their sentimental life; consequently they will not get a bunion on their left foot.

Yang valgus big toe, Yin valgus big toe

In some cases it seems that the size of these two protuberances is the same, but if we touch them lightly we can feel that they are not the same. One will be more angular than the other. This delicate palpation will allow us to determine which of the two is more recent and which the more chronic.
The more recent will be the more pointed, more angular, more Yang protuberance, while the more chronic will be rounder as it will have formed over a longer period of time, rather like a stalagmite, drop after drop with the passing of the years.
Very old protuberances can be manifested, without them ever having produced acute symptoms associated in memory with a particular fact or period of time.

Some people ask us advice about the possibility of a surgical operation to reduce a valgus big toe.
If the tuberosity is painful and the person desires the operation to alleviate his pain, we do not recommend it. Statistics show that in spite of the operation the pain persists and in some cases even prevents normal walking.
If the pain has remained it means that the original psychosomatic cause is alive and present. In this case surgery solves nothing because the underlying problem is not solved, the problem which has caused those muscles and tendons to contract, compress the articulation and so produce inflammation and pain.
If, on the other hand, a person feels no pain and desires the operation for purely aesthetic reasons, or because they have difficulty finding shoes suitable for their deformed feet, then we have nothing against it.

The absence of pain guarantees the optimal result of the surgery because it indicates that the problems that had caused the valgus big toe have been resolved. It will then be a case of plastic surgery which will partially change the osteo-articular physiology.

It is a characteristic of these people to possess an incredible number of shoes. Whenever the pain becomes acute again they buy a new pair, but the problem is not solved. We try to show that it is not the shoes which hurt, but the feet; therefore it is the feet which have to change and not the shoes.
The same shoes can sometimes be painful and at other times not, and if the shoe is always the same it will be the foot that is changing.

The nail of the big toe can also provide us with a considerable amount of information, but nails will be covered in a separate chapter.

The other toes

The toes are almost a universe apart, the image of the complexity of the head, the brain and the brain’s functions, with an element extra to western knowledge: the energetic component. For example, when we identify the condition of the reflex area of the bladder and massage it we act on the physical, organic bladder. But when we massage the stretch of the meridian of the bladder on the dorsum of the foot we are acting on an energetic component.

The three phalanges of the toes bring us back to the concept of man situated between heaven and earth. The first phalange represents the earth, the negative pole, Yin, that which is situated low down, relating to our body’s most physical functions: procreation, elimination of waste, sexuality. In the body it corresponds to the region of the body from the navel downwards.

The third phalange, the most distal, is also the highest. It therefore relates to heaven and to all that we associate with that concept: the positive pole, thought, non-physical faculties, spirituality, everything the Chinese include in the concept of Shen, the solar, Yang. In the body it corresponds to the region from the diaphragm upwards.

The middle phalange represents man. Situated between heaven and earth, man performs the role of mediator between them. He is the place where heaven and earth meet, and organically represents the space and the organs situated between the diaphragm and the navel, the region relating to metabolization. The Chinese consider the stomach to be “the sea of liquids and solids coming from nutrition”.

Hammer toe

A toe can present an imbalance, assuming the shape of a hammer or a hook.
The collapse and consequent rigidity of the first and second phalange articulation, the lower part of the digit, produces a hammer toe.
This is an indication of difficulty in the relationship between man, the second phalange, and earth, the first phalange.
The person in question will have problems with the most physical, material, everyday part of his existence, in relation to the route, in its overall meaning, of the movement to which the meridian belongs.

Hook toe

A hook toe is a deformation caused by arthrosization with resulting callosity on the articulation between the second and third phalanges. A person with it has problems associated with the man-heaven relationship, equivalent in the body to the region from the diaphragm upwards, and to all that which corresponds to heaven, his mind, Shen, his spirituality. All this should be considered in relation to the route of the corresponding meridian, and can be further distinguished depending on whether it is the left or the right foot, and the prevalence of one hemisphere’s use as opposed to the other.

Heavenly polarity and earthly polarity

Let us begin with the general supposition that what is on the right side of our body belongs to the concept earth — physicalness, rationality, the relationship with everyday affairs — which we shall define as earthly polarity. Let us consider the left-hand side of our body as a manifestation of the functions and problems deriving from the use of the right cerebral hemisphere, which processes functions associated with the metabolization of dreams, the imagination, feelings, sentiments, which we shall define as heavenly polarity.

Summing up briefly: the second and third phalange articulation (man-heaven) of the left foot (heavenly polarity) represents the relationship heaven-heaven. The first and second phalange articulation (man-earth) of the left foot (heavenly polarity) represents the relationship heaven-earth.
On the right foot (earthly polarity) the second and third phalange articulation (man-heaven) represents the relationship earth-heaven. The first and second phalange articulation (man-earth), still on the right foot (earthly polarity), represents the relationship earth-earth.

Applying what may seem abstract formulas to a practical example, we can sum up that a manifestation of arthrosization in the second and third phalange articulation of a toe on the left foot, relationship heaven-heaven, may be interpreted as indicating a difficulty in contemplating problems of a purely mental nature.

This is the case with people who have difficulty whenever they try to focus their attention on philosophical problems, which are in any case associated with the use of the right cerebral hemisphere.

An articular blockage of the first-second phalange on the left foot (heaven-earth), indicates an individual’s difficulty in putting into practice, or realizing concretely, the product of their mental activity in the realm of sentiments. For example, we want to get married, but it seems impossible to transform a pure, ideal, platonic sentiment (heaven-heaven), into a more concrete, physical relationship, that is, change heaven-heaven into heaven-earth.

The presence of a corn or callosity on the articulation of the second and third phalange (man-heaven relationship) of the right foot (earthly polarity), presents us with a person who has problems in giving expression to his creativity, that is has difficulty with his mental functions within the rational sphere (on the other foot it was pure realization in the realm of sentiments). For example: a designer, an architect, or an advertizer who must materialize the product of his creativity in a period of crisis, when he is short of ideas, or when he is experiencing some form of stagnation, crystallization or stasis which obstructs his mental faculties.

Let us remember that whenever we are unable to verbalize our discomfort we somatize it. The stiffening or loss of functionality of an articulation is associated with this process.

A block in the articulation of the first and second phalange of the right foot indicates a difficulty in the relationship earth-earth, i.e. something concerning pure physicalness — difficulties associated with day-to-day affairs, physical work and practical problems.

Of course the significance of these fundamental concepts, in the specific case, always relates to the course of the meridian which reaches that toe.

Lidui (St. 45)

Anatomically, point 1 of the stomach meridian, Chengqi, is situated under the eye, between the eye ball and the mid-point of the infraorbital crest. The first part of the stomach meridian, reaching point 8, Touwei, completes a sort of U, a kind of splitting in two of the meridian; an analogous situation we find at the end of the same meridian, which finishes on the second and third toe of the feet, Lidui 45 and 45a (see illustration on page 187).

It is no accident that in both the right and left foot the second or third toe is longer. My observations have led me to the conclusion that the stomach, being a single, centrally-placed organ, but not having a regular form with differentiated functions, can be associated with the meaning of the triple heater meridian. This meridian does not correspond to the stomach as a physical entity, but rather to its functions. With an abbreviated formula, extraneous to the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine but figuratively useful for westerners like us, we could vaguely associate the stomach meridian with the anatomy of the stomach and the triple heater with its physiology. The triple heater gets its name from the position of the three heaters, or burners: the high, the middle and the low heaters. The high heater is situated at the level of the cardiac stomach, the middle heater in the central part of the stomach, and the lower heater at the level of the pylorus.

Cardiac stomach

The second toe of the left foot corresponds to the high part of the stomach and will provide information about the psychosomatic and energetic condition of the cardiac stomach, which in relation to a central axis is situated high on the left, next to the heart.

Pylorus

The second toe of the right foot will provide information about the condition of the pylorus, which is situated low on the right, closer to the liver.

Central part of the stomach

The third toe, the one situated in a strategically central position, represents the central part of the stomach.

The second toe of the left foot is subject to deformation in connection with stomach disorders resulting from problems of an emotional origin. A person in love, for example, will feel his stomach closing up, will “lose his appetite”. In his divine state he lives in another dimension, where he can do without food because he is living on love.

Deformation or pain in the second toe of the right foot, on the other hand, corresponds to the lower part of the stomach, the area of the pylorus. When there is tightness in the stomach, a feeling of closing up, usually called pyloric stenosis, a condition that obstructs the passage of food, there is a resulting stagnation of gastric juices which at a symptomatic level causes a feeling of burning or gastric acidity, which we instinctively try to soothe by consuming alkaline foods like bread or pasta.

We should remember that the left side of the body is governed by the right cerebral hemisphere, which regulates functions relating to the realm of sentiments. The left cerebral hemisphere, on the other hand, regulates the functions of the right side of the body, the rational side, the “computer” of our being.

We have divided the stomach roughly into three sections: the higher part on the left near the heart, the central part in the centre and the lower part low down on the right. If a person has problems in the realm of his emotions or instincts, an imbalance will manifest on the second toe of the left foot. When verbalized, metaphorically, this may be described as: “I feel as if my stomach has siezed up; I don’t feel like eating!”. The central part of the stomach, linked to the concept of centrality, has the characteristic of being oriented in all directions, and therefore of almost always being involved. The extreme emotional consequence of this continual turmoil is a tendency to brood over things. People verbalize this symptom by saying that situations “weigh on their stomachs”.

The lower part of the stomach, as opposed to the higher part situated on the left, is situated low down on the right, and more to the rear. It is regulated by the activity of the pylorus, which unlike the cardiac stomach, a circular sphincter muscle (like the orbicular and anal sphincters), is a valve that opens and closes.

Problems connected with the left cerebral hemisphere, somatized at a gastric level, will involve the pylorus. The person will have the unpleasant sensation of not digesting surrounding situations which he will experience as something weighing on his stomach. This pyloric stenosis, or tightening of the outlet valve, which inhibits the evacuation of the stomach, will cause stagnation in it, causing fermentation, eructation and an increase in acidity.

At this point let us proceed to a rough classification of deformations in the left and right foot. It is important to determine whether or not the problems associated with this right-left division, that is the high or low part of the stomach, are caused by heaven or earth components, independently of their more mental or more physical origin, and to do so we must draw attention to particular aspects of the conditions known as hammer toe and hook toe.

The third toe, corresponding to the central part of the stomach, is elongated when there is a form of prolapse of the stomach, therefore a slackening of the stomach tissues. If the third toe of the left foot is longer it means that the subject is a person who lets himself go at a dream level in long creative amorous fantasies. If the third toe of the right foot is longer it means that the person in question has a strong tendency to brood over things, to a reflection that is projected onto the more physical, more earth, conceptual field. The same principle can be used for all the toes: if a toe is elongated it is because the organ corresponding to that meridian is prolapsing or elongating.

The most common deformations we encounter are articular, characterized by the formation of corns and callosities, general enlargement or swelling, evident shrinking or curling, the previously mentioned hammer toes or hook toes, overlapping or underlying toes, the presence of fungus, and various deformities of the nails.

Hook toes, when appearing in the second and third toes of the left foot, indicate emotional rigidities in mental activity relating to reflection (Earth Movement) in the realm of sentiments. They indicate a limitation or blocking of the instinct where instead this should be dominant. In physical terms, the somatization involves neuromuscular loads or overloads involving the articulations of these toes. The problem of these individuals lies in an aprioristic rigidity in letting their instinct go, in their denying themselves the emotional opportunity to fall in love, for example, to express themselves as they would like. There is a closing of the high part of the mental sphere.

Hammer toes, when appearing in the second and third toes of the left foot, indicate a limitation or stiffening in reflection in the realm of sentiments relating to everyday life. These subjects have difficulty in bringing down to earth, to the physical plane, to the practical level, what they have elaborated mentally in the realm of sentiments. To continue the previous example of falling in love, in this case the subject does not deny himself the opportunity to fall in love. In fact he is in love; his problem, for example, may be actually declaring his love to the person he desires. The difficulty, the blockage, consists of joining or relating the physical and the mental, in other words making it possible for an idea elaborated and experienced by the right cerebral hemisphere to materialize.

Our psyche is full of nuances. A right foot with second and third hooked toes indicates a suffering due to a form of limitation in the high part of the rational sphere, in other words, rigidity or lack of elasticity in the field of ideas that can be put into practice. Comparing hooked second and third toes of the left foot with those of the right foot, we notice that in the left foot the blockage concerns mental activity relating to sentiments, whereas in the right foot it concerns mental activity in terms of its physical, practical realization.

People with hooked toes in the right foot have difficulty in dealing with day-to-day practical affairs. For example, an artist who mainly uses the right hemisphere of his brain, completely immersed as he is in an ideal world of the imagination, will have difficulty in dealing with the most ordinary matters of everyday life, like filling in forms, paying bills and such like.

Hammer toes on the right foot are manifestations of a closing or blockage of the earth part. They indicate the impossibility of digesting situations that are to do with the rational sphere, like work and everyday practical matters, in other words the most physical aspect of the physical part. In most people the second and third toes have a very similar structure, often looking like two twins.

On the outer ungual corner of the second toe is jing point 45 of the stomach meridian. The second and third toe indicate energetic problems relating to the meridian of the stomach meridian and its form, these being of psychosomatic origin.

Considered as a whole, the toes represent a spatial unfolding of the head, as if the head was an opened-out cardboard cube. With this vision it is easier to place the eyes on the second and third toes, and the ears on the fourth and fifth toes. In fact, eyes are more external in relation to the body’s central axis, and ears are even more external in relation to the eyes.

Toes provide information about the condition of organs associated with the corresponding meridians. When we massage the organs reflected on the foot, with the exception of the toes, this mechanical action produces an electro-chemical reaction which sends a stimulus to the target organ. When we massage the feet, therefore, we work with purely physical or mechanical components.

Qiaoyin (44 G.B.)

The fourth toe is reached by the gall bladder meridian, which terminates on the external ungual corner with point 44, Qiaoyin. The fourth toe is of great help in accurately interpreting the condition of the gall bladder. If the fourth toe is large it indicates that the gall bladder is losing its peristaltic function, that its tissues are slackening; consequently it does not put into circulation the physiologically required quantity of bile. If bile is not put into circulation, it stagnates in the gall bladder, crystallizes and leads to the formation of gall stones.

If the fourth toe of the left foot is bigger than the other toes it means that the subject has a tendency to withhold and control. This control is not limited to the emotion of anger but also has a physical manifestation consisting in the non-introduction of bile into circulation. The terms used here should be carefully distinguished from the previous ones. For the second and third toes we talked of reflection and brooding. For the fourth toe we are now talking about withholding and control.

This subject therefore is withholding or controlling feelings relating to the realm of sentiments. Experiencing a disagreeable situation, without expressing and manifesting verbally, causes the emotion to be somatized and crystallized at the level of bile, producing crystals of calcium bilirubinate or cholesterol depending on what his liver is forced to metabolize. If the realm of sentiments is subjected to this emotional control the fourth toe of the left foot tends to become enlarged. If instead we have difficulty in expressing our emotions and opinions in the rational sphere, in the field of work, if we are forced to withhold and are unable to express ourselves, then it is the fourth toe of the right foot that becomes swollen, red and turgid.

The interpretation of the hammer or hook toe is also valid for the fourth toe, although initially it may be more difficult to perceive because it is shorter than the second and third toes. It is easier to see morphologically in the form of a general enlargement or curling. The shape of the fourth toe reveals the subject’s susceptibility to or actual suffering from the presence of gall stones. A long, enlarged fourth toe indicates that the gall bladder has serious difficulty in emptying. It is characteristic of people who never seem to get angry, even though they do get angry but fail to show it in an obvious way, which is something quite different. This anger is withheld, somatized and crystallized in the form of a single large stone.

Those, on the other hand, who have fourth toe that is enlarged and curled, radiographically demonstrable, may have what is called a bilobate gall bladder, or in any case a large number of small stones. A curled fourth toe gives us the image of a gall bladder only partially contracting therefore putting into circulation only a limited quantity of bile, retaining the rest which crystallizes. A recurrence of this process generates those little stones. This is a person who has periodic “outbursts of rage”; therefore at times he discharges and at times he withholds.

Another possibility is a curled fourth toe that is small, rather than enlarged. It is characteristic of people who will never have stones because their gall bladders are emptying continuously, even excessively. These people may in fact cause stones to form in the gall bladders of those who live with them and are forced to put up with their continuous outflows of bile.

Zhiyin (67 B.)

The fifth toe suffers from the mechanical action of shoes on the feet more than any other. It is also called the little toe, although a close observation often reveals that it is not always the smallest. On the contrary, at times it is clearly bigger than the other toes. The fifth toe is the termination of the bladder meridian, and on the external ungual corner is Zhiyin, a very important jing point. We may stimulate it when the foetus is in a breech position or an anomalous position or the birth of the baby promises to be difficult.

The bladder meridian has no close relationship with the organic bladder, which will be examined later. The course of the meridian starts near the medial margin of the eye socket, passes through the proximal depression of the medial extremity of the eyebrow, runs longitudinally over the cranium and descends along the side of the vertebral column, the thigh and leg posteriorly, as far as the fifth toe.

The bladder is associated with the valley of Neptune. Neptune is the god of the waters and Neptune’s valley is like a basin, something used to containing, i.e. a basin for collecting water. Water, like Water Movement, is linked to what in a pathological sense becomes stress, tension, fear. Therefore the fifth toe is enlarged in particularly distressed people.

Soft corn between the toes

This irritating condition usually affects the space between the fourth and fifth toes. In podological terms it is called interdigital soft corn. It is caused by the arthrosization of the articulation of the first and second phalanges, and appears when the adjacent toe defends itself by producing a callosity with a characteristic crater shape to accommodate the sharp bony protuberance and limit the damage it is causing.

Mycosis between the toes

Another common disorder affecting the interdigital space between the fourth and fifth toes is called athlete’s foot. It was once wrongly believed that a high intake of meat helped athletes to perform; therefore they were literally stuffed with it. Not even the athlete’s “healthy liver” was able to metabolize such a large quantity of meat; as a result the ph level of his sweat was altered to the point of producing such a high level of acidity that it literally corroded or burnt the skin in the interdigital spaces. This condition usually appears on the right side, the same side as the liver.

The increased acidity of the sweat, which signifies an imbalance in the ph level, makes it a fertile ground for oncotic conditions. We always invite those suffering from this to reduce their consumption of meat drastically and we always obtain immediate confirmation of what has just been stated. The level of acidity in the sweat rapidly falls, reducing the evil-smelling process of skin rotting in the interdigital spaces and eliminating the fungal culture which proliferates in an acid environment.

Throat group

A prime area of differentiation compared to an ideal foot — continuing with our analysis from the toes towards the sole of the foot and moving from the medial area outwards — is the area below the big toe, which may be referred to generally as the throat group. This reflex area in the I.S.R.A. corresponds to the thyroid and parathyroid glands. When this area protrudes it is due to the contraction of the long extensor muscle of the big toe, which causes the ligaments of the metatarsophalangeal articulation of the first toe to give way, thus causing swelling. This enlarged area is therefore a Yang symptom, a sign of expansion, of dilation, of something that is growing, and therefore indicates that the defences are activated in the corresponding area — the throat group, with the thyroid and parathyroid glands, the pharynx, larynx and vocal cords.

The lymph-nodes are hyperactive, increasing the production of white blood corpuscles to defend the headquarters, in this case the lungs. This increase in size, due to the enlargement of the adipose cushion protecting the underlying nerve endings which are stimulated by the compression of the sesamoid bones, may be acute in its symptoms and appear red, swollen, painful, hot, hypersensitive.

In a chronic condition, on the other hand, although the swelling is still present, there is no pain, redness, heat or hypersensitivity. In this case the opposite is true: the tissue covering the sesamoid bones may appear to be completely empty, soft, flattened, often with a small crease immediately below it. The crease forms as a result of the emptying of this area in a relatively short space of time, almost producing a fold.

If there is swelling, a Yang symptom, it means that the first lines of defence in the respiratory apparatus are active, that the lungs are defended. In the Yin manifestation there is a hypofunctionality in the high respiratory tracts, thus limiting the functioning of the lungs, which are more vulnerable to attacks from external elements like cold air, dust and smoke.

These signs, like most of the elements we shall analyze, have no absolute value when considered singly; rather, they should be considered with as many other elements as possible. The more tiles we have, the more complete is our mosaic.

Trachea-bronchi

Proceeding outwards laterally towards the reflex area of the lungs we sometimes find a groove or vertical callosity indicating the condition of the trachea-bronchi. The trachea is placed vertically. In the I.S.R.A. we found it dorsally in the interosseous space between the first and second metatarsals. In this morphological interpretation its symptoms of imbalance show up plantarly at the level of the oesophagus. Here too there are two complementary symptoms: one of fullness, with a callosity, and one of emptiness, with a groove. The possible presence of catarrh, a Yang symptom, at the trachea-bronchi level, being something extra produces a callosity; if the trachea is deficient, a Yin symptom, a groove forms.

Lungs

Proceeding laterally towards the fifth toe we come to what on the chart shows as a white oval and corresponds to the lungs. The oval shape is determined by the characteristic form of the callosity which forms when the lung produces catarrh.

The callosities can have different sizes and thicknesses. The thicker the callosity is, the older and more chronic the problem. If the callosity on the pulmonary area looks thin it means that the lungs of the person are covered in a thin film of catarrh. If the reflex area of the lungs has a groove instead of a callosity, or a more general flattening or emptiness, we may infer a condition of hypofunctionality or reduced pulmonary ventilation.

Trapezius muscle

Only part of this area can be found particularly accentuated: a callosity or corn precisely in the area of the reflex point of the trapezius muscle, metaphysis of the first phalange of the second toe. A hardening of this small area indicates that the subject suffers from stiffness in the trapezius muscle on the side corresponding to the foot with the callosity. The Japanese call the area between the shoulder blades the devil’s door. Symptomatically this condition manifests rather like a vice, an unpleasant stiffness between the shoulder blades. Individuals suffering from it often desire to be massaged right there in order to alleviate the tensions causing it.

Liver

Proceeding further towards the fifth toe we find a particular callosity which in 80-90% of cases is situated or originates almost exclusively on the right foot. Whereas the callosities so far described are found either bilaterally or on one foot only (obviously taking into consideration their homolateral bodily correspondence), this large callosity on the right foot indicates the reflex area of the liver.

Let us continue to bear in mind the following axiom: bones do not move by themselves but are moved by muscles. The muscles in our body can be long or short, superficial or deep, lying to the right or to the left, in front or behind, above or below. Muscles are influenced by the suffering of organs or joints lying below them, independently of what allopathic medicine can demonstrate with haematochemical examinations or laboratory analyses in general.

If a liver is in difficulty, the muscle above it, in this case the broad back muscle, will either contract or relax depending on whether the ailment is Yin or Yang.

A liver can grow larger or smaller. Enlargement may be caused by a numeric doubling of hepatocytes or a doubling of their size. A doubling of the size of the liver, already the largest organ in our body, may sound like an exaggeration, but is verified when with an abdominal palpation a doctor feels that the hepatic parenchyma is projecting from the costal arch by about two fingers’ width.

The result of all this is that the muscle chain on the right side of the body contracts, producing the phenomenon called “the apparently shorter limb”. Shorter apparently, but not in reality, as is easily demonstrated by measuring the lower limbs and taking as points of reference the external malleolus and the greater trochanter.

When walking, an overload will be generated centered particularly on the head of the fourth metatarsal, already identified as the reflex area of the gall bladder. Should the problem get worse then the left foot will also tend to assume a position with the forefoot in abduction-supination and thus the callosity will appear on the left foot too, although always less than on the right foot. The parameters of fullness and emptiness can also be applied to this area: we may encounter a hyperactive, intoxicated, overburdened liver when there is a callosity, or a liver in the opposite condition when the adipose cushion protecting the metatarsal head has shrunk.

Axillary cavity

In the upper third of the foot there may be another callosity, which forms below the head of the fifth metatarsal. In the dorsal view, we identified the shoulder joint on the metatarsophalangeal articulation of the fifth toe. Looking now at the plantar view, we find ourselves under the shoulder and in fact under the shoulder we find the axillary cavity. This area is important as the site of one of the principal lymph-node centres.

Lymph-nodes produce lymphocytes (white corpuscles) and are activated when lymphocytes are needed. Their function is to defend the surrounding areas by generating an inflammatory process. The lymph-nodes of the axillary cavity are activated particularly when they are needed by the breasts, the tops of the lungs or the shoulder joints.

When we encounter a callosity under the distal epiphysis of the fifth metatarsal we may infer, especially if the subject is a woman, that there are problems connected with the breasts.

Another easy check to make concerns sweat, which will be greater under the axillary cavity where the presence of the reflex callosity is more evident. Consequently, if a person has a callosity which is more accentuated on the reflex area of the right axillary cavity he will have shirts with a sweat-mark on the right side, corresponding with the callosity.

Stomach

In the central part of the foot, medially, on the cavity of the first metatarsal, which corresponds to the gastric cavity, there may be an evident soft swelling, which being in the area of the stomach indicates its tendency to prolapse. The same area may also be hard, rigid and tense, in this case being characteristic of a stomach with spasms. Anatomically, in the palpation we shall stimulate the flexor muscle of the first toe.

Small intestine

In the central part of the foot there is sometimes a fairly soft, insubstantial swelling, asymptomatic when subjected to pressure. This is the area of the small intestine, whose reflex area on the foot, as previously mentioned, does not respond proportionately when the subject complains of a dysfunction in this organ since its meridian is shou and not zu.

Bladder

Descending further from the toes towards the heel in the description of the reflex morphological symptoms of the foot, another reflex area with important organic and psychosomatic correlations is that of the bladder. In conditions of imbalance it will appear as a kind of circular blister of varying size, colour and tonicity. The reflex area of the bladder may be large or small, soft or hard, hard in the middle and soft at the edges or soft in the middle and hard at the edges.

If the reflex area of the bladder is small and hard the subject will suffer from pollakiuria, the need to urinate frequently, caused by the frequent stimulus which the distension of the bladder’s muscular wall sends to the brain. The bladder, unable to expand much and unable to contain more urine, sends the relevant message to the brain in order that it be emptied and return to the state of a container.

If the reflex area of the bladder is large the subject will have the tendency to withhold his urine. If the reflex area of the bladder is large and altogether soft, the subject will be able to urinate once in the morning before leaving home, and again in the evening when he returns, without any particular discomfort. This is caused by the tendency of the bladder wall to prolapse, with the result that the more urine arrives, the more the bladder expands, generating a process of mechanical compensation. The brain will not register the stimulus of micturition if it is not reached by a stimulus from the muscles of the bladder, which imposes the elimination of urine with an excretory action.

When, on the other hand, we encounter a reflex area of the bladder which is large but tense, the contrary of the previous case, we have a subject who frequently registers the cerebral stimulus to urinate but is probably prevented from doing so by particular circumstances — the fact that he is on a journey, or busy on a job that cannot be interrupted, or is in the middle of a speech — in other words he registers the impelling stimulus to go and urinate, but cannot and so withholds in spite of himself.

Reflex areas of the bladder which are hard in the middle and soft at the edges or soft in the middle and hard at the edges correspond to states of transition. Hard in the middle and soft at the edges indicates, and patients confirm it, that whereas until some time ago they did not have the urge to urinate regularly, now they have it. Subjects with the reflex area of the bladder soft in the middle and hard at the edges state the opposite, that until some time ago frequent urination was the norm. From this we can deduce that the morphological diversification of the reflex area of the bladder changes from the centre outwards towards the edges.

Urethra

There may be another small swelling immediately above the reflex area of the bladder, below the tibial malleolus, in the area of the penis-vagina reflex area, which we shall also associate with the urethra. This area will become important, together with the pressure to be exerted on the corresponding uterus-prostate gland point, for the symptomatic differentiation of the difficulty in urinating. In a male difficulty in urinating may be caused by the enlargement and hardening of the prostate gland. Women have no prostate gland, so the cause of similar symptoms should be sought in problems connected with the innervation of the urethra.

Rectum-anus

Below the bladder, in the area corresponding to the rectum, we frequently encounter a single groove or a series of small grooves, which look like tiny twigs, a sign of emptiness or slackening, associated with the reflex area of the rectum. These manifestations can be associated with the tendency of the wall of the rectal ampulla to slacken, or with haemorrhoidal symptoms. When asked, the subject will confirm that he does not experience a sensation of complete emptying of the rectal ampulla.

I have had only one patient with an evident callosity in the reflex area of the rectum, a manifestation which particularly interested me. A callosity is something extra, something in excess, a Yang manifestation, so what could have been in excess inside the rectum, in the sense of proliferation? The answer was that he had suffered from parasitosis in the past. Given the location, the callosity was not produced by muscular overload, and once the cause had been resolved, and the residual callosity removed, it never reappeared.

Uterus-prostate gland

Halfway between the inner malleolus and the internal inferior tuberosity of the calcaneus is the reflex area of the uterus-prostate gland. From a psychosomatic point of view this element provides highly significant information that should be variously interpreted according to the sex of the subject. The fundamental difference at the level of archetype in the uterus-prostate gland relationship is that the woman has always identified herself and has been identified with the concept of maternity, of fertilization, and of reproduction in the sense of continuity.

There are references like Mother Earth, or the sacred cow, the dispenser of milk. One of the main physical differences between a man and a woman is the reproductive system. In a more or less conscious way the woman, archetypally, tends to identify herself with the uterus, as in the defiant phrase of militant feminism “it’s my womb and I’ll do what I want with it”, or “la donna è mobile” (woman is fickle) from Verdi’s Rigoletto, or “women are moody”. All metaphorical expressions which draw inspiration from the woman-moon principle, the lunar month of 28 days, and the female reproductive cycle of 28 days.

Man, on the other hand, has never been identified with his prostate gland, but rather with his head, his thoughts, his authority, his role as a leader or manager. Thus, for the woman the uterus represents an extremely important source of somatization and confirmation of it is a morphological correlation in the uterus-prostate gland reflex area.

A man whose prostate gland is removed will not develop a small groove in the corresponding reflex area, a groove which ought to correspond to removal. It happens instead for the woman. A woman who has had a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) or the cauterization of a wound, or an abortion or miscarriage, or any other type of surgical operation to the uterus, will have reflex manifestations on her foot in proportion to the extent of the psychological trauma.

In the case of a hysterectomy a fossette always appears distinctly in the reflex area of the uterus. If the surrounding skin is stretched to make the fossette disappear we see it return as soon as the skin is released. In cases of small operations to the uterus the fossette tends to be smaller in size. I have seen women with the morphological reflexological manifestations characteristic of a hysterectomy, who have said that in reality they suffered only an abortion. I have also had the opposite, i.e. women who have had a hysterectomy whose fossette was very superficial.

The analysis and cataloguing of thousands of cases has produced a precise, logical classification which covers all the various symptoms. As regards the reflex point of the uterus, the size of the fossette, its depth and the shape of its edges must be observed. The size will indicate the nature and extent of the operation, for example a hysterectomy, the scraping of the uterus following a haemorrhage or the removal of a fibroma. The depth of the fossette will give us the extent of the physical suffering experienced by the woman as a result of the operation. The edge of the fossette, similar to that of a crater, will be either rounded or sharp.

I remember how astonished a very young woman was when I asked her to confirm my observation of the manifestations of an abortion reflected in her foot. With great embarrassment and incredulity she answered in the affirmative. When she asked me how I had discovered this deep and extremely private suffering, which no one other than her gynecologist knew about, I explained that for a woman the uterus is a form of archetypal identity, and that all manifestations connected with birth are verifiable in the uterus.

She told me that during sexual intercourse with her partner she had clearly experienced the moment of being made pregnant. Full of anxiety and hoping desperately that her suspicions were unfounded, she waited for her period to come. After a delay of two days she did a pregnancy test which turned out to be positive. The following day the pregnancy was interrupted with the aspiration of the embryo. Although she experienced no physical pain from the micro-operation, given the tiny size of the embryo, the extent of the psychological trauma engendered by the surgery was more considerable, and consequently a fossette with sharp, well-defined edges appeared on her foot.

Then there was the opposite case. I once asked a friend of mine, during a reading of her feet, whether she had had an operation like the scraping of the uterus, since she had on her foot a fairly large fossette with rounded, rather than angular edges. She told me that she had had a hysterectomy, something which initially amazed me. She then told me that because of her age the operation had involved no trauma at a psychological level; she had in fact been totally indifferent about it. Indeed, on the evening immediately after her operation in hospital, with a great sense of humour she put the urine-bag still hooked up to a vesical catheter into her crociodile-skin handbag so that she could walk round the ward comforting the other patients.

Penis-vagina

Immediately above the reflex area of the uterus, below the tibial malleolus, is the reflex area of the penis-vagina. Morphologically speaking, this area may appear slightly swollen; here too, in the vast majority of cases, this characteristic is more usually found in women rather than men. When the swelling appears it invariably indicates an external inflammatory condition, therefore of the vagina.

Peripheral venous blood circulation

In the medial area surrounding the internal malleoli the skin may be of a different colour, a manifestation that usually suggests problems related to the peripheral venous blood circulation. Generally speaking, we associate this area with the abdomen, with the innermost part. When a pale, diffused purplish colour appears, it indicates that surgical operations have been carried out in the abdomen. When instead the colour of the blood capillaries is evident, and they look like fine lines (telangiectasis), this refers to the peripheral blood circulation, but the more superficial one. In such cases the advice we give is to stop using garters, suspenders and tight-fitting underwear, anything restrictive that may generate a form of compression, thus inhibiting superficial venous reflux.

Sometimes these capillaries are larger and more obvious, the colour being reddish tending to blue, and they look like many distinct bubbles of blood under the skin, a symptom of a caving in or collapse of the venous wall. We associate this type of manifestation with a compression of the venous circulation that is no longer superficial, with external causes, but is the result of deeper endoabdominal pressure caused by the enlargement or suffering of organs in the abdomen.

Lymphatic circulation

Swelling of the ankles, which can spread from the feet to the leg according to how serious it is, provides an indication of the suffering of the lower limbs due to the obstructed reflux of the lymphatic circulation. This manifestation is accompanied by the loss of hair on the legs, this in turn being caused by the suffocation of the hair follicle. Strips of shiny, hairless skin may also appear; this symptom should be considered in relation to the course of the corresponding meridian.

Abdominal muscles

A characteristic swelling that is very easy to identify and circumscribe may appear on either the left or the right foot in the area corresponding to the abdominal muscles. Being a swelling, and therefore a dilation, it indicates a swelling or dilation of the corresponding abdominal muscles which is not necessarily obvious from an organic, structural point of view. This swelling actually signifies that processes of fermentation in the abdomen are causing a liberation of gas, resulting in an increase in the virtual space. The swelling on the foot is more evident on the left or right depending on whether the process of fermentation is concentrated more in the ascending colon or more in the descending colon.

Calcaneal callosity

One condition, which in the later stages of learning relative to the study of diagnosis is of great importance, is the presence of a callosity on the inner part of the calcaneus. This indicates the extent to which the mother limited the development of the personality of the subject under examination.

A similar callosity on the right foot refers to the suffering or conflict experienced by the subject in relation to his or her femaleness, to the femaleness around him or her, to the subject’s instinct and sexuality. Through the feet it is impossible to establish what kind of educational attitude a mother had towards the subject, but through the feet we can observe what has been experienced, the unconscious, profound, or even manifest suffering that the subject has experienced towards his or her mother.

The origin of a callosity on the inner area of the left heel is remote, therefore, dating from the first five or six years of life when a child uses mainly the right side of his brain, the more emotional, instinctive irrational, creative side. This is a child who still believes in Father Christmas, who needs fairy-tales and images with which to express himself, a child who knows nothing about irony, synonyms or subtleties in drawing and speech.

For the child, the mother as archetype represents softness, the absorbing principle, the feeling of protection. When a mother is not all this, or a child fails to experience a mother in this way, emotions are experienced in a distorted way and seriously condition the child’s future development.

Let us compare this callosity on the left foot with the same callosity on the right foot. If we see that on the right foot it is diminishing or disappearing altogether it means that the subject in question, in growing up and becoming a parent in his turn, has severed the archetypal umbilical cord with his or her mother or with the image of her. If, on the other hand, we see that not only has the callosity on the right foot not diminished but actually grown it means that the umbilical cord has not been severed and that the situation has worsened. This subject will experience his or her femaleness and surrounding femaleness in a conflictory way. The manifestation of this callosity (which is produced by neuromuscular overloads) on the area defined as of the mother — since it corresponds to the pelvis, to what is contained in it and to all the archetypes we associate with it — being on the right foot is not a consequence of the activity of the right brain. Rather it is the metabolization of the left cerebral hemisphere, that which controls our rational, logical, mathematical side.

A callosity on the inner side of the right calcaneus is much more serious when found in a woman. Indeed, in a purely physical sense it indicates that her womb has a tendency to retroversion and fibrotization, and thus expresses the negation of her femaleness, of her being a woman. In being retroverse it is as if her uterus were communicating its inaccessibleness. Its hardening, relative to a rigidity, reminds us of the opposite condition mentioned previously in connection with yielding (women are fickle, women are moody).

This callosity on the foot of a woman indicates the woman’s difficulty in identifying herself with her deep femaleness. If the same callosity appears on the foot of a man it signifies that he has difficulty in manifesting his femaleness with softness, that he is unable to express himself gently. He will also have difficult emotional relations with the entire female sex. Thus, if the callosity is on the right foot and not on the left foot it means that the problem originating with the mother has been reconciled with the passing of the years. If the callosity is more or less the same on the left foot and the right foot it means that the umbilical cord with the mother has not been severed. If the callosity on the right foot tends to increase, rather than decrease, it means that the problem has grown rather than diminished, that the relationship with the female principle has deteriorated, and this is more serious when the subject is a woman. More rarely the callosity appears on the right side only and indicates a recent cause, to be sought for primarily in the subject’s difficult relationship with the more physical side of his or her femaleness.

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