in traditional chinese medicine, nodules on the neck are considered to be a form of scrofula (luŏ lì) a disorder marked by nodules on the sides of the neck, or goiter (yǐng), in which the nodules are on the midline of the neck. sometimes a general term, phlegm nodules (tán hé), is used to describe both of these conditions.

the pathogenesis is commonly depletion of the liver and kidney yin which gives rise to fire from deficiency that consumes the fluids and produces phlegm. fire and phlegm coalesce into nodules that are firm and rubbery in consistency. the dry mouth, red tongue, and rapid pulse reflect the presence of heat, while the slippery and/or wiry pulse reflects its coalescence into phlegm.