Anemia is referred to as "xue xu" (blood deficiency) in traditional Chinese medicine, and iron-deficiency anemia is similar to "wei huang" (sallow complexion) or "huang pang bing" (general edema with sallow skin). Aplastic anemia is characterized by general deficiency, so it is grouped into the category of "xu lao" (consumptive disease); and since it is often accompanied by hemorrhage, it is associated with "xue zheng" (hemorrhagic syndrome) to some extent. There are a variety of causes of anemia, such as acute or chronic hemorrhage, intestinal parasitosis, disorders of the spleen and stomach, debility after illness or deficient constitution as well as the effect of some medicines or poisonous substances, which result in consumption of blood, or disorder of the spleen and kidneys leading to insufficient qi and blood, thus blood deficiency ensues.