According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the kidney governs production, stores essence and functions as the prenatal base of life. Only when kidney qi is superabundant, essence and blood are sufficient, the thoroughfare and conception vessels are full as well as menstruation is regular can sexual intercourse result in pregnancy. Any factors that affects any links in this procedure may cause sterility. So sterility is closely related to the kidney.

Since the kidney is the dominant one among the five zang and six fu organs, asthenia of the kidney may lead to dysfunction of the liver, spleen and heart. The dysfunction of these viscera further leads to insufficiency of the liver and kidney, asthenia of both the spleen and kidney as well as disharmony between the heart and kidney that result in disturbance of qi and blood in the thoroughfare and conception vessels and failure of the uterus to conceive fetus.