#470
July 21, 2026

Wen Bing Anatomy
Kerri Westhauser

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As chronic, hard-to-treat disorders become more common in clinic, many practitioners are returning to Wen Bing theory for answers.

In this conversation with Kerri Westhauser, we explore lurking pathogen theory and how deep-lying evils help explain complex conditions like lupus and POTS.

We also discuss why tonification often backfires in chronic disease, and the importance of venting, regulating, and mobilizing Shen to keep the body’s pathways open.

Listen in for a practical rethinking of the Wei and Qi levels and how to locate disease that has gone into hiding.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Zangfu limitations – Recognizing where standard pattern differentiation falls short in chronic disease.
  • Return to the classics – Rediscovering Shanghan Lun, Nei Jing, and Wen Bing through years of independent study.
  • COVID as catalyst – How the pandemic pulled lurking pathogen theory off the shelf and into daily practice.
  • Lurking pathogen theory – Understanding Fu Xie and deep-lying evils as roots of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.
  • Rethinking the Qi level – Why real patients rarely show the “big fever, big pulse” textbook picture.
  • The membrane source – Locating disease in the deepest layer of Shaoyang.
  • Anatomy as space, not organs – Thinking in cavities, networks, and burners rather than fixed structures.
  • Modern insults to the body – How antibiotics, steroids, and GLP-1s can trap pathogens internally.
  • History-taking as diagnosis – Using “never been well since” to trace precipitating events.
  • The danger of tonifying too soon – Why strengthening a patient before clearing trapped evils can backfire.
  • Venting, regulating, mobilizing – A treatment hierarchy for keeping the body’s pathways open.
  • Shen and the spaces within – How a stagnant Shen allows pathogens a place to hide.
  • Herbs for lifting and venting – Qing Hao, Chai Hu, and other classical formulas for deeper release.
  • Allergy shots and repeated insult – Reframing immunizations as cumulative pathological injury to the lung.

The highest level of herbal prescribing is by temperature, flavor and direction.

Dr. Kerri Westhauser, DACM, L.Ac.

I am licensed in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., a former professional member of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine(AAAOM) and Board Certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology. 

I have been in private practice in the Metropolitan area since 2004 and have treated over 20,000 patients. Since 2013, I have worked at the Maryland University of Integrative Health as a clinical supervisor in the Chinese Herbal Program and is the former Director of the Chinese Herbal Program (2018-2022). In addition I am an adjunct faculty member at the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine and Yo San University.

I studied at the Maryland Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shanghai, China and the Maryland University of Integrative Health. I have completed Mazin Al-Khafaji’s two year Dermatology Program and received my doctorate from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.

Links and Resources

To learn more from Kerri Westhauser, check out her upcoming CEUs at Yosan University or explore her recorded lectures on Pi Wei Lun, chronic hives, and dermatology at TCM Academy.

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