Abstract
For more than 2500 years, acupuncture has been applied to support the healing of different diseases and physiologic malfunctions. Although various theories of the meridian system and mechanisms were formulated to explain the functional basis of acupuncture, the anatomical basis for the concept of meridians has not been resolved. The aim of the present study was to search for replicable anatomical structures that could relate to meridians. To this end, four human specimens and additionally two lower legs were dissected anatomically. Our study found evidence that acupuncture meridians were part of the human extracellular matrix and that fascia was an important part of the anatomic substrate of acupuncture meridians. At the same time, we found vessel-nerve-bundles, which were hypothesized to account for 80% of acupuncture points, only in a few acupuncture points. Therefore, our findings contradict the theory that acupuncture points are only located along the nervous channels.
Highlights
As part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), acupuncture has been an energetic and vibrant treatment with a successful application for more than 2500 years [1, 2]
Our study found evidence that acupuncture meridians were part of the human extracellular matrix and that fascia was an important part of the anatomic substrate of acupuncture meridians
By finding fascia fractions of the human extracellular matrix with a fibre run as the course of the acupuncture meridian, we suggest that the anatomical substrate of the acupuncture meridian is the fascia superficialis corporis of the human extracellular matrix as it was suggested in scientific works [16,17,18]
Summary
As part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), acupuncture has been an energetic and vibrant treatment with a successful application for more than 2500 years [1, 2]. By acting (by needles, laser, moxa, pressure, etc.) on certain areas on the surface of the skin, functional disorders can be corrected, and pain can be reduced. Such areas are defined as acupuncture points. In TCM, meridians are strings connecting acupuncture points, which are considered as passageways through which energy flows throughout the body [1, 2]. Acupuncture treatments should improve the flow of energy through the meridian network [5,6,7,8,9,10]
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