What it is:
This herb is the back shell of Trionyx sinensis (Wiegmann) ( family Trionychidae), which is mainly producedin the provinces of Hebei, Hunan, Anhuiand Zhejiang. Cut off the head of the turtle, boil the body for 1- 2 hours, take it out of water and clear the shell of the remaining flesh. Then the shell is dried in the sun, and used unprepared or stir-baked with vinegar.

Property:
Salty in flavour, cold in property, acting on the liver channel.

Effects:
Nourishing yin, suppressinghyperactive liver-yang, softening hardmasses and resolving lumps.

Used for:
1. For stirring- up of endopathic wind of deficiency type due to impairment of yin by febrile diseases with symptoms of dizziness, involuntarymovement of Limbs, it is often used together with oyster shell, dried re-hmannia root, donkey-hide gelatin andwhite peony root , as in Pulse-restoringDecoction of Two Kinds of Shells (Erjia Fumai Tang).

2. For fever, hectic fever and night sweat due to yin deficiency, It is often used with large-leaf gentian root, wolfberry bark and anemarrhena rhizome, as in Powder of Large- leaf Gentian Root and Turtle Shell( Qinjiao Biejia San); in the treatment of con-sumption and impairment of body fluid at the late stage of febrile diseases with manifestations of nocturnal fever,emaciation, rapid pulse and red tonguewith little coating, turtle shell is often used together with sweet wormwood,moutan bark and dried rehmannia root , as in Sweet Wormwood and Turtle Shell Decoction (Qinghao Biejia Tang).

3. Inferocostal masses, abdominal masses due to blood stagnation, and amenorrhea due to blood stasis. It is often given with cyperus tuber, greentangerine peel, burreed tuber and zedoary as in Turtle Shell Pill( Biejia Wan).

Dosage and administration: 10-30g, crushed and decocted earlier than other herbs. For nourishing yin and suppressinghyperactive liver-yang, it should be used unprepared; for softening andresol-ving masses, it should be stir- baked with vinegar.

Precautions:
Turtle shell should not be prescribed to patients with deficiency of the spleen-yang marked bypoor appetite and loose stool, and to pregnant women.