Gross Anatomy and Acupuncture: A Comparative Approach to Reappraise the Meridian System

Abstract

Acupuncture originated in ancient China but is used around the world to treat a variety of diseases. Research has not provided conclusive evidence proving the existence of meridians, or the lines along which acupuncture needles are inserted. Currently, some members of the scientific community recognize the existence of acupuncture points but not of the meridians. Thus, when acupuncture is accepted, it is regarded as a suitable treatment for some symptoms and diseases, but its effectiveness is ascribed directly or indirectly to the nervous system. Gross anatomy is the discipline upon which scientific biomedicine is based, and the author uses juxtaposition to compare the shapes of the 12 main meridians with the anatomical shapes of their related organs; this comparison has revealed similarities that are worthy of consideration. This article discusses similarities between the shape of the Large Intestine and Kidney acupuncture meridians and the anatomy and embryology of the colon and urogenital tract in humans and other animals. Verification of these and other morphological similarities by human and comparative anatomists, geneticists, and biologists would support the hypothesis that meridians are involved in embryonic morphogenesis, extrauterine development, and the conservation of health. Such a possibility should increase scientific interest in the biophysical existence of meridians and prompt research that applies this new perspective to novel experimental projects.

An extravascular fluid transport system based on structural framework of fibrous connective tissues in human body

“…However, the transport courses of the fibrous extravascular pathways from the thumb were significantly individual in all subjects and different from the diagrammatic drawing of Lung Meridians in Meridian Atlas . The visualized fibrous pathways were not the proof for the Meridians & Collaterals network but could be an anatomic structure for interstitial fluid transport, mediated by which acupuncture signals from an acupuncture point can be transmitted into an associated visceral structure hypothetically.…”

Introduction of human anatomy before modern China: The preface of anatomical education in mainland China

“…Although the meridian's essence has not yet been clarified, most scholars have confirmed that the meridian system is a conduction system, different from blood vessels and nerves in humans (Li, Li, Chen, Guo, & Silberstein, 2019). The start and end of the meridians and the flow route of Qi are all based on anatomy (Yang, Li, Nilius, & Li, 2011); there is a close relationship between the meridian's actions and its corresponding spinal nerve and autonomic nervous functions (Marcelli, 2013;Schnorrenberger, 2013). Furthermore, the meridian's physiological functions and pathological changes are also derived and deduced based on anatomy.…”

Acupuncture and Neural Mechanism in the Management of Low Back Pain—An Update

“…Other studies suggested that there are more mast cells distributed at acupuncture points [ 168 , 169 , 170 ]. Marcelli, Peuker and Cummings, and Cheng, have made some studies of the morphological characteristics between the meridians and the anatomical structure [ 171 , 172 , 173 , 174 ]. Shaw and McLennan did an anatomical dissection study based on investigation of cadaveric specimens.…”