Chinese medicine study, reimagined

Master Chinese Medicine Through Practice

Interactive TCM cases, Chinese herb quizzes and active recall, designed to build real clinical reasoning.

Start Learning See how it works

Clinical reasoningHerbsPatternsProgress

  • Realistic CasesBuild clinical reasoning
  • Herb Learning280 herbs and 109 formulas
  • Track ProgressBuild Five Element mastery
  • Built for PracticeFrom study to clinic

What you can study

Learn Chinese Medicine in a more meaningful way.

Shen Study is an interactive study app for Chinese medicine and acupuncture students, and for practitioners keeping their knowledge sharp. Work realistic TCM cases from pattern differentiation to treatment principle, points and formula, and learn Chinese herbs and formulas through active recall, with a Five Element progress system that rewards understanding over memorisation.

01 · Cases

Clinical Cases

Work through realistic presentations, identify patterns and build treatment strategies step by step.

02 · Herbs

Herb Learning

Know herbs by sight in their dried form, and learn herbs and formulas through active recall.

03 · Progress

Track Your Growth

See your clinical knowledge develop through Shen Study's Five Element mastery system.

How Shen Study works

Two learning loops that build on each other.

Cases train clinical reasoning. Herb study builds the materia medica that reasoning depends on.

Clinical cases

  1. Meet

    Meet a realistic patient presentation.

  2. Reason

    Choose patterns and treatment strategies.

  3. Reflect

    Compare your reasoning with structured feedback.

  4. Build mastery

    Return to new presentations until the reasoning comes naturally.

Try a free case

Work through one complete TCM case with structured feedback. No account or card needed.

Try a free case

Herbs and formulas

  1. Learn

    Recognise herbs in their dried form, then learn each one's nature, flavour, channels and actions.

  2. Recall

    Today's study takes about five minutes, mixing questions by picture, by properties and by ear.

  3. Review

    Spaced repetition brings each herb back when it's due. A miss returns a few questions later, asked another way.

  4. Master

    All four properties strong takes a herb to Emerald. Remembering it after days, then weeks, lifts it to Platinum.

  1. GrowingMá Huáng
  2. EmeraldWǔ Wèi Zǐ
  3. SapphireRòu Guì
  4. AmethystJú Huā
  5. GoldFú Líng
  6. PlatinumRén Shēn

Grow your herb garden

Quick quizzes on 280 herbs and 109 formulas. Each herb grows in its own ring, a quarter for each property, from Growing to Platinum.

Try a herb quiz

Five Element mastery

Grow your knowledge, element by element.

Your progress grows across Shen Study's Five Element mastery system as you complete cases. Each case counts toward the Element of its organ system, so your strengths, and the areas that need work, stay visible.

  • Wood 木Liver · Gallbladder
  • Fire 火Heart · Small Intestine
  • Earth 土Spleen · Stomach
  • Metal 金Lung · Large Intestine
  • Water 水Kidney · Bladder

Each Element climbs through four ranks.Element ranks are included with Full Access.

  1. Bronze
  2. Silver
  3. Gold
  4. Platinum

Inside a case

Feedback that shows your thinking.

Each case moves from evidence to a treatment plan, then shows where your reasoning aligned and where to look again.

  • Differentiate patternsConnect the presentation, tongue and pulse to the dominant pattern and plausible differentials.
  • Build a coherent planPractise choosing treatment principles, acupuncture points and formula context from the same diagnosis.
  • Learn from each attemptSee diagnostic clues and structured comparisons while the reasoning is still fresh.
An example case, simplified from the app.

Everything you need to deepen your practice.

  • Case Practice

    Realistic TCM cases, from presentation to treatment plan.

  • Herb Library

    280 herbs, each with nature, flavour, channels and actions.

  • Formulas

    109 formulas to study and quiz alongside the herbs.

  • Pattern Recognition

    Differentiate patterns from symptoms, tongue and pulse.

  • Herb Recognition

    Name 108 herbs from illustrations of their dried form, then hear each name in Mandarin.

  • Today's Study

    About five minutes on the herbs that are due, plus up to two new ones.

  • Five Element Mastery

    Case progress grouped by Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

  • Progress Tracking

    Pick up where you left off, and see your herbs by level in the Materia Medica garden.

Our approach

Understanding over memorisation.

  • 01

    Reasoning over recall

    Pattern, principle, points and formula have to agree with the same evidence, just as they do in clinic.

  • 02

    Feedback that teaches

    Structured feedback explains why an answer fits and what to look at next, in a warm, encouraging voice.

  • 03

    An honest study tool

    Shen Study supports your training. It does not replace qualified clinical supervision or medical care.

Build clinical reasoning one case at a time.

Study cases, herbs and patterns in one focused learning environment.

Start Learning