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Strict rules are identified to apply to the relationships between the Five Phases in terms of sequence, of acting on each other, of counteraction etc.<ref name="Aung 2007"/> All these aspects of Five Phases theory constitute the basis of the [[Zang-fu|zàng-fǔ]] concept, and thus have great influence regarding the TCM model of the body.
Correspondences between the body and the universe have historically not only been seen in terms of the Five Elements, but also of the "Great Numbers" (大數, {{zh|p=dà shū}})<ref name="Matuk 2006"/> For example, the number of acu-points has at times been seen to be 365, in correspondence with the number of days in a year; and the number of main [[meridian (Chinese medicine)|meridians]] – 12 – has been seen in correspondence with the number of rivers flowing through the [[History of China|ancient Chinese empire]].
==Diagnosis==