Table 1.

General characteristics of the four Sasang constitutional types

	TY type	SY type	TE type	SE type
Hyperactive organ system	Lung*	Spleen*	Liver*	Kidney*
Hypoactive organ system	Liver*	Kidney*	Lung*	Spleen*
Insidious greed and deviations	Indiscipline, Ignobility	Pretentiousness, Frivolity	Acquisitiveness, Avarice	Stealthiness, Prevarication
Personality	Communicative, decisive	Forceful, strong-willed	Consistent, reliable	Prudent, composed
Sign of health	Plentiful urination	Brisk perspiration	Easy defecation	Comfortable digestion
Sign of illness	Restricted urination	Obstructed perspiration	Hindered defecation	Strained digestion

* These represent the functional and structural conceptualization of organs specific to the Sasang constitutional typology that are completely different from their namesake organs in Western medicine. In Sasang constitutional medicine, the variegated functions of the human body is summarized into the interactions of the four organ systems that represent the following roles in the body: the Lung system is involved in the process of dispersing the energy-fluid material, the Liver system in concentrating the energy-fluid material, the Spleen system in the containing of the water-food material, and the Kidney system in discharging of the water-food material.

[adapted from Kim et al.[8]].