Anatomical Roots of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Abstract

The earliest historic reference to a dissection of a human cadaver is found in the biography of Emperor Wang Mang 王莾who in 16 C.E. ordered the medical dismembering of the body of a rebel named Wang Sun-Ching (occidental anatomy began only 1,500 years later). Measurements were made of his internal organs, and bamboo rods were inserted into his blood vessels in order to discover where they begin and where they end for the purpose of a better understanding of how to cure diseases. Similar anatomical dissections are mentioned in chapter 12 of the Huang-Di Nei-Jing Ling-Shu 黃帝內經靈樞, entitled Jing-Shui 經水 The ancient Chinese characters for body dissections given here are the same as in modern Chinese anatomy, namely Jie-Pou 解剖. The courses of the pathways as laid out in chapter 10 of the Ling-Shu Jing could well be the result of such dissections; they are elementary for acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Otherwise it cannot be explained why ancient Chinese physicians were able to denominate the respective viscera properly with names still in use today and how they could locate them topographically in their correct position as well as linking them to the vessel pathways leading to the periphery of the human body. The majority of Western acupuncturists adhere to far-fetched assumptions about ‘meridians', ‘channels', ‘points', and ‘energy' which have never existed in China. Western acupuncture thus relies on a basic logical error, a so-called Wrong Beginning (Proton pseudos πρῶτον ψεῶδος). That is why modern acupuncture finally needs an anatomical nomenclature for daily practice and scientific research including all the structures involved, which are still the same as 2,000 years ago.

Anatomical characterization of acupoint large intestine 4

“…In this study, several structures were associated with LI4. Other publications and textbooks have inferred structures at this specific acupoint, (Langevin & Yandow, 2002;Bai et al, 2011;Peuker, Cummings, Klonowska, & Ferreira, 2018;Schnorrenberger, 2013); however, no other studies have looked at a detailed characterization of LI4 with respect to anatomical variation.…”

“…Some researchers associate specific conduits of connective tissue as an anatomical basis for acupoints; however, these are purely theoretical and provide loose anatomical associations with specific acupoints (Bai et al, 2011;Langevin & Yandow, 2002). The physiological processes that take place such as central or peripheral reflexes, or changes in systemic or local circulation are dependent upon the aforementioned structures at LI4 (Schnorrenberger, 2013).…”

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

“…They measured the sizes and weights of the internal organs (Yu, Chen, & Zhao, 2015). Also, they inserted bamboo rods into the veins, aimed to discover the start and end of the vein, for better understanding the therapeutic method related to veins (Schnorrenberger, 2013).…”

“…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.…”

The future of acupuncture education: 3D Augmented Reality (AR) acupuncture model for Chinese Medicine

“…From acupoint localisation and needling techniques to the teaching of acupuncture, the ancient methods are passing down through TCM heritage. Historically, the first standardised acupuncture model was constructed a thousand years ago in 1027 AD (Schnorrenberger, 2013). Produced by metal copper craftsmen, this first model which was about 1,750 mm tall was constructed by Wang Weiyi under the order of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty of China.…”