The liver qi is responsible for the generation and development, corresponding to the image of the East. In ancient times, the East was on the left side, and in ancient China, people viewed the world in a "left east, right west" manner. The lung qi governs Chen's descent, which corresponds to the Western image. Therefore, the "right lung", the liver and the lungs, rise and fall one by one, can coordinate the qi flow of the whole body. When the qi flow is smooth, people will not be sick. Therefore, treating diseases can be said to be treating the liver and lungs. If the disease is difficult to treat, it is said to be "difficult to regulate the liver and lungs".
The left liver and right lung are a type of traditional Chinese medicine that rely solely on functional meteorology to locate the organs, which is completely inconsistent with anatomical conclusions. Here, the liver and lungs do not refer to the physical entities of the liver and lungs, but rather to liver qi and lung qi.
肝气主生发，应的是东方之象，东方在古代就是左边，中国古人是“左东右西”来看世界的。肺气主陈降，应的是西方之象，所以说“右肺”，肝和肺，一升一降，能够协调全身的气机，气机顺畅了人就没病了，所以治病可以说是治肝肺，病难治，就说“肝肺难调”。
左肝右肺是中医里一种全凭功能气象定位的藏腑定位，与解剖结论完全不符，这里的肝和肺并不是指肝脏和肺的实体，而是肝气和肺气。