Gou Shen

Gou Shen is not a plant but an internal organ of the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris Linnaeus (family Canidae). The pinyin term shen (literally "kidney") is used in classical Chinese materia medica to denote either the kidney proper or, by traditional extension, the testicle of male animals, and both interpretations are recorded for this entry. The substance consists of the fresh or dried organ collected at slaughter, cleaned of fat and surrounding tissue, and prepared by drying, roasting, or steaming. Dried specimens are dark brownish-red, shrivelled, and odoriferous. The substance has a strongly warm, salty character in traditional categorisation and is a minor, largely historical item in the Chinese materia medica.