Acupuncture at homotopic acupoints exerts dual effects on bladder motility in anesthetized rats.

Qingguang Qin,Xinyan Gao,Bing Zhu,Kun Liu,Xun He,Qian Mo

doi:10.1186/s12906-015-0781-6

Abstract

BackgroundIn Chinese medicine, dual effects on target organs are considered a primary characteristic of acupoint. Acupoints may be classified as heterotopic or homotopic in terms of spinal segmental innervation: homotopic acupoints contain afferent innervation in the same segment from which efferent fibers innervate target visceral organs, and heterotopic acupoints utilize different spinal segments to innervate target visceral organs than the segment receiving the afferent signal. It is well-known that dual effects of acupuncture on the bladder can be generated based on different states of the bladder, however, the dual effects of single acupoint stimulation and acupoint site-specificity (homotopic acupoints and heterotopic acupoints) on the bladder have yet to be investigated.MethodsTwenty Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and the intravesical pressure was measured via a manometric balloon inserted into the bladder. The acupuncture needle was separately inserted to a depth of 4 mm at the acupoints RN1 (Huiyin), RN3 (Zhongji), BL28 (Pangguangshu), BL32 (Ciliao), RN2 (Qugu) or BL23 (Shenshu), and manually rotated right then left with a frequency of 2 Hz for 1 min. Following acupuncture stimulation, bladder pressure was recorded and compared against the pre-stimulation measurements.ResultsDuring the bladder’s active state, manual acupuncture (MA) at RN1, RN3, BL28, BL32 or RN2 inhibited bladder motility (P < 0.01). In the static bladder, MA at RN1, RN3, BL28, BL32, RN2 or BL23 increased bladder motility (P < 0.01).ConclusionsMA at homotopic acupoints may produce dual effects on bladder motility: inhibiting bladder motility when in an active state and enhancing bladder motility when in a static state.

Highlights

In Chinese medicine, dual effects on target organs are considered a primary characteristic of acupoint
Our previous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture at homotopic acupoints, where afferent innervation is in the same spinal segment from which the efferents innervate visceral organs, decreases intragastric pressure
Acupuncture at homotopic acupoints decreases the intravesical pressure in the active state Firstly, we observed that a baseline internal pressure of bladder was 20-50 mmH2O, as recorded with the 0.5 mL inflating water balloon

Summary

Introduction

In Chinese medicine, dual effects on target organs are considered a primary characteristic of acupoint. Acupoints may be classified as heterotopic or homotopic in terms of spinal segmental innervation: homotopic acupoints contain afferent innervation in the same segment from which efferent fibers innervate target visceral organs, and heterotopic acupoints utilize different spinal segments to innervate target visceral organs than the segment receiving the afferent signal. It is well-known that dual effects of acupuncture on the bladder can be generated based on different states of the bladder, the dual effects of single acupoint stimulation and acupoint site-specificity (homotopic acupoints and heterotopic acupoints) on the bladder have yet to be investigated. Acupuncture at heterotopic acupoints, which utilize different spinal segments to innervate a visceral organ has been shown to induce gastrointestinal facilitation in complete spinal rats [6]

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Discussion

Conclusion