Southern California University School of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture
Syllabus Form
Course Number:
Course Title:
OM 304
Oriental Medical Terminology
Term:
Instructor:
Contact Number:
Email:
Units/ Hours: 3/ 30
Pre-requisite/ PRC: None
Learning Methods: Text, Lecturing, overhead, Class discussions and Handouts
Description:
An introduction to basic Oriental Medical terminology and Chinese characters
useful in understanding acupuncture, herbology and Chinese medical theory.
Objectives:
Students will learn the basic skills to identify basic Chinese characters that are
utilized in Oriental medicine. They will learn how to read, write and pronounce
certain characters (e.g. numbers, colors, name of organs and other associated
words).
1. To be able to pronounce written Pinyin and write Pinyin from spoken Mandarin Chinese,
including tones.
2. To understand the basics of Chinese character theory well enough to be able to count
strokes accurately and look up characters in a Chinese-English dictionary.
3. To recognize and write basic Chinese characters, with emphasis on Chinese Medical
terminology
Required Text(s): Wiseman, N. (1995). English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese
Medicine. Hunan, China: Hunan Science and Technology Press.
Cheng, Xinnong (1999). Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Revised
Edition. Beijing, China: Foreign Languages Press. (中國針灸學: translated into
Korean)
Recommended text:
Wiseman, N. & Ye, F. (1998). A Practical Dictionary of Chinese
Medicine. Brookline, Massachusetts: Paradigm Publications.
Course requirements:
1. Regular attendance as defined according to the SCUSOMA University catalog
and the California State Board Laws and Regulations, which state that students
may not receive credit for the course if they are absent fro more that two classes
Southern California University School of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture
2.
3.
4.
5.
Grading:
20%
10%
30%
40%
or miss part of more that four classes (e.g., leaving early, arriving late) or any
combination thereof.
Class participation
Midterm and Final Examinations
Weekly Quizzes
Homework assignments
Attendance
Homework
Midterm examination
Final examination
Course Outline:
Weekly topics, learning objectives and assignments.



Introduction to the Chinese language, including Romanization systems and dialects
Pinyin:
o 5 tones, using ma
o Vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ü, y
o Consonants: b, d, f, g; l, m, n; j, q, x; z, c, s
Chinese characters:
o 1-4
o yin, yang
Week 2:
 Pinyin:
o Diphthongs: ai, ao, ei
o Consonants: h, k, l, ng, ch, sh, zh
 Chinese characters:
o 5-10
o Qi, blood
Week 3:
 Pinyin:
o Diphthongs: ia, ie, iu, ou, ua, uo
o Consonants: p, r, t, w
 Chinese characters:
o Zang (Yin organs)
Week 4:
 Pinyin: review
 Chinese characters:
o Fu (Yang organs)
Southern California University School of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture
Week 5:
 Pinyin: practice
 Chinese characters: review
Week 6:
 MIDTERM EXAMINATION
Week 7:
 Pinyin: er, ian, iang
 Chinese characters:
o Five Elements
 Looking up Chinese characters in a Chinese-English dictionary
Week 8:
 Pinyin: un, uan
 Chinese characters:
o Shen, Essence, Body Fluids
 Dictionary practice
 Pinyin practice
Week 9:
 Pinyin: ue, uai
 Dictionary practice
 Pinyin practice
Week 10:
 Review
Week 11:
 FINAL EXAMINATION