Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/14693
Title: Meridians under the skin
Contributor(s): Shaw, Vivien (author); Aland, Rachel  (author)
Publication Date: 2013
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/14693
Abstract: The physical nature of the acupuncture meridian system is currently the subject of enquiry. The original structural descriptions of the meridian system contained in the 'Huangdi Neijing', the ancient Chinese medical text also known as the 'Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine', are detailed and specific. The 'Huangdi Neijing' states that dissection was used as a tool for investigating the anatomy of the human body. If dissection formed part of the basis for the anatomical essays in the original text, then it should still be possible to use it to find the same physical structures today. The words used in the 'Huangdi Neijing' to describe meridians repeatedly contain the character for silk. This occurs in Jing Luo, the character for the meridian network, and in Jing Mai, the character for an individual channel. The fascia of the body resembles silk in appearance. It pervades the body, wrapping around every structure, and either separating or connecting these body parts. An obvious question arises, was the character for silk chosen to describe meridians because this was what was observed during dissections performed by the authors of the 'Huangdi Neijing'? If this hypothesis holds true, then the Chinese characters that were originally used to describe the meridian network could literally describe the nature of the physical substrate for acupuncture - the silk-like fascial tissue of the body.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of the Acupuncture Association for Chartered Physiotherapists (Spring), p. 75-81
Publisher: Acupuncture Association for Chartered Physiotherapists
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1748-8656
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 110317 Physiotherapy
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 420106 Physiotherapy
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 920117 Skin and Related Disorders
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 200101 Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Publisher/associated links: http://www.aacp.org.uk/aacp-journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

Files in This Item:
3 files
File Description SizeFormat 
Show full item record

Page view(s)

982
checked on Nov 5, 2023
Google Media

Google ScholarTM

Check


Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.