About
肓 is a phono-semantic compound, combining a semantic element and a phonetic element. The bottom part is ⺼ (the 'flesh' radical, a variant of 肉 that appears as 月 when used as a component), which signals that the word belongs to the domain of anatomy or the body. The top part is 亡, which indicates the pronunciation. In traditional Chinese medicine, 肓 refers specifically to the space between the heart and the diaphragm. This character is rarely used outside the classical idiom 病入膏肓 (bìng rù gāo huāng), which means that a disease has reached this deep, vital area and has become terminal. The idiom thus serves as a metaphor for an incurable condition.
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