Abstract:Objective Using infrared thermography to evaluate the rise and fall of Yang in mice with a glucocorticoid drug-induced syndrome. Methods One hundred and twenty SPF male ICR mice were tested in three experiments: each experiment included a normal control group and four groups of different doses of glucocorticoid (hydrocortisone, prednisolone, or dexamethasone), 8 mice in each group. Infrared thermal images of the mice in each group were taken on the fourteenth day of drug administration, and the temperatures at the head, the lateral abdomen and the tail root were analyzed. Results After administration of hydrocortisone and dexamethasone, all the maximum head temperature, the mean trunk temperature and the minimum tail temperature of the mice were decreased to different degrees. After prednisolone administration, the maximum head temperature of mice in the very-low-dose glucocorticoid group showed a significant decrease. Conclusions Infrared thermography can be used to evaluate the degree of “Yang” in experimental mice. Hydrocortizone and dexamethasone can induce cold signs similar to Yang deficiency in mice with drug-induced deficiency syndromes.