吴鞠通青年时因父亲病故而立志学医，后长期钻研叶天士的温病学说（二人生卒年不相重叠，属私淑而非亲传）。他在叶天士「卫气营血」理论基础上，创立「三焦辨证」体系，以上、中、下三焦划分温病传变阶段，与卫气营血辨证互为补充，使温病学说的辨证体系更加完整。所著《温病条辨》与《伤寒论》并列，被视为治疗外感热病的两大理论支柱。

Wu Jutong resolved to study medicine as a young man after his father's death from illness, and spent years studying Ye Tianshi's theories of Warm Disease (the two never met, as their lifetimes did not overlap — Wu studied Ye's work independently, not as a direct disciple). Building on Ye's defense-qi-nutrient-blood framework, he established the "Triple Burner" pattern system, dividing the progression of warm disease into upper, middle, and lower stages, complementing the earlier framework and completing the diagnostic system for Warm Disease theory. His resulting Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases is regarded, alongside the Treatise on Cold Damage, as one of the two theoretical pillars for treating externally-contracted febrile illness.