When we interpret the concepts of the liver and blood mentioned in Donguibogam from the perspective of modern medicine, there are surprisingly many areas of agreement. The statement that 'the eyes become parched due to lack of liver blood' can be linked in modern medicine to tear film instability or meibomian gland dysfunction. Tears are not simply water, but a complex film composed of a lipid layer, an aqueous layer, and a mucus layer. Among these, the lipid layer is secreted by the meibomian gland, and this gland is closely connected to systemic inflammatory response and hormonal imbalance. Along with detoxification, the liver plays an important role in hormone metabolism. If liver function declines or is overloaded, this hormonal balance is disrupted, which may also affect meibomian gland function. In particular, for women, dry eye syndrome due to hormonal changes around perimenopause commonly appears, which also corresponds with the observation in Donguibogam that liver blood deficiency appears more frequently in women.
In addition, liver heat or liver wind affecting the eyes can be interpreted as autonomic nervous system imbalance or an inflammatory response. When stress is severe or one overworks, sympathetic nerves become hyperactive, which can constrict blood vessels around the eyes and suppress tear secretion. Chronic stress raises inflammatory markers to induce microinflammation on the ocular surface, which can cause hypersensitivity reactions in the cornea and conjunctiva, both rich in innervation, leading to stinging and a foreign body sensation. These symptoms can be compared to liver heat or liver wind, as if the eyes were suffering from a hot wind. In some autoimmune diseases, such as Sjรถgren syndrome, extreme dry eye syndrome is accompanied by a systemic inflammatory response and abnormalities of the immune system. This corresponds to the perspective in Donguibogam that the liver is a key organ responsible for systemic balance, not merely for the eyes. Ultimately, modern medicine also agrees that eye health depends not simply on an issue of the eyeball itself, but on the balance of the entire body, especially the harmony of liver function, hormones, and the autonomic nervous system.
