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The Anatomical Basis of Acupuncture: Past, Present, and Future
Author(s) -
Gana Karen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.691.16
Subject(s) - acupuncture , medicine , traditional chinese medicine , dry needling , timeline , alternative medicine , emperor , human body , traditional medicine , physical therapy , pathology , history , anatomy , ancient history , archaeology
Acupuncture is one modality utilized in Traditional Chinese Medicine. From the Western perspective, many have heard and believe that acupuncture involves some kind of “magical” manipulation of an unseen force or energy said to percolate through the body (this “force” is known as Qi). On the contrary, Traditional Chinese Medicine is as based in experiential and empirical evidence as Western Medicine. It is interesting to note that the timeline for the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine pre‐dates the emergence of the well‐known Greek Fathers of Medicine by a few thousand years. Chinese practitioners performed post‐mortem anatomical studies, produced intricate drawings of the organs and blood vessels, measured the dimensions of bones, and even measured the size, dimensions and capacitances of the various organs. The most complete compilation of the anatomical studies is found in the text known as the Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon). Students and practitioners of Acupuncture must know the anatomy of the human body in order to define the acupuncture points and properly place the acupuncture needle when treating the patient. Clinical trials continue to be conducted in order to elucidate the biomedical processes underlying acupuncture treatments. Both NIH and WHO support the use of acupuncture for treating many conditions including headache, musculoskeletal pain, and post‐chemotherapy nausea.