Bonghan System Research Articles

Bonghan (primo vascular) system, elucidated by Bong Han Kim: Kim’s findings, later verifications, new findings, and prospective: A review

The Bonghan system (BHS) was discovered in the 1950s by Dr. Bong Han Kim in North Korea. His first report, published in 1962, revealed the identity of ‘acupuncture meridian’ as a vascular system. Kim published five reports, containing completely new facts on BHS: its distribution throughout the entire body, even in blood and lymphatic vessels and self-renovating function via a new cell cycle, demonstrating its fundamental nature in life. In about 1966, Kim’s research abruptly ceased but in about 2000, it was revived by Dr. Kwang-Sup Soh in South Korea, who later gave it another name, primo vascular system (PVS). Soh and other PVS scientists also uncovered new BHS/PVS facts: e.g., its roles in stem cell productions and in cancer metastasis. The review provides a glimpse of BHS/PVS science, which is so worthy of furthering. It includes: BHS and acupuncture meridian; BHS subtypes; sanal (산알)-cell cycle for cell-renovation and blood cell productions; sanals and stem cells; and cancer associated-PVS. The bases of BHS/PVS sciences are now laid out in front of us and it is up to us to combine our efforts together to further this important science. The review invites scientists in all fields to active debates to move forward and implement BHS/PVS sciences in healthcare.

МОРФОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ СУБСТРАТ ТОЧЕК ИГЛОУКАЛЫВАНИЯ И СИСТЕМЫ МЕРИДИАНОВ КИТАЙСКОЙ ТРАДИЦИОННОЙ МЕДИЦИНЫ

The review summarizes studies related to current issues and concepts of the neuroanatomic basis of the meridian system and acupuncture points. The proponents of their existence have not yet come to any consensus on how they might work or be tested in a scientific context. Kim Bonghan, a professor at Pyongyang Medical University of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, discovered the anatomical structure of meridian collaterals, which he called the Bonghan corpuscles (now known as primo nodes) and the the Bonghan ducts (primo vessels), and called it the Bonghan (Kyungrak) system. In 2010, it was renamed into the primo vascular system (PVS), which exists throughout the organism, including blood and lymph vessels. PVS is an anatomical structure being a network of ducts with fluid flowing in them. This system consists of primo-vessels and primo-nodes, corresponding to acupuncture meridians, and acupuncture points, respectively. Thus, the PVS can serve as a morphological substrate for acupuncture points and meridians of traditional Chinese medicine; however, since there is no scientific consensus on the neuroanatomical basis of acupuncture, further morphological, physiological, and clinical studies are needed to promote a broader mutual understanding of this issue in the research community and beyond.

Qi as Biophotonic Information Flux of DNA in the Bonghan System(International Conference on Mind Body Science : Physical and Physiological Approach joint with The Eighteenth Symposium on Life Information Science)

Qi as Biophotonic Information Flux of DNA in the Bonghan System(International Conference on Mind Body Science : Physical and Physiological Approach joint with The Eighteenth Symposium on Life Information Science)

The hyaluronic acid-rich node and duct system is a structure organized for innate immunity and mediates the local inflammation

The Hyaluronic Acid-rich Node and Duct System (HAR-NDS or NDS), Primo Vascular System (PVS) or Bonghan System (BHS), is thought to be a third circulatory system independent of the blood and lymphatic systems and a structure of connected nodes and ducts. Although it seems to be part of the immune system as it is enriched with cells of innate immunity, little is known about its immunological roles. We performed cellular profiling and secretome analysis of NDS in a steady state and under TLR2- or TLR4-mediated local inflammation, and found that the NDS is pre-dominantly enriched with the myeloid cells, selectively attracts the inflammatory macrophages and neutrophils, has a flexible structure just like the lymph node, and is structured with the fibroblastic reticular cells and reticular network. NDS dominantly harbored the myeloid cells in both steady and activated status, and secreted various types of inflammatory cytokines by proinflammatory stimuli. These results suggest that NDS is the lymphoid structure for the innate immunity and plays an intermediary role in the innate immune cell-mediated local inflammation.

Sistema circulatorio de Bonghan como una extensión de los meridianos de acupuntura

The Bonghan system (BHS) is a newly-discovered circulatory system, which corresponds to classical acupuncture meridians and was discovered in the early 1960s by B.H. Kim. Despite its potential importance in biology and medicine, it has been ignored or forgotten for a long time. Only recently have most of its significant parts, such as the BHS inside blood or lymph vessels, on the surfaces of internal organs, and in brain ventricles, been confirmed. For this, novel methods using modern technology were necessary because B.H. Kim did not describe his methods. For example, among other methods, the discovery of a BHS-specific dye, trypan blue, was one of the most important original contributions that made BHS observation possible. With this technique, the BHS in adipose tissue became traceable, and the BHS was discovered on the fascia surrounding tumor tissues, a finding which may have great significance in relation to serious health problems in modern society, namely, obesity and cancer.

From Bonghan system to primo vascular system:the thought on the substantial study on meridian points

Through the systematic analysis on the primo vascular system (PVS) in recent years, we believe that in recent years, more and more studies have indicated that PVS is distributed in reticulate structure in every part of body, such as vessels, lymphangions, nerves, brain, spinal cords and internal organs, and it contains a large amount of immunocytes and has involved in the physiological or pathological process of the immunity and circulation in the body. There are the evidences to prove that in morphology and cytobiology. But, nowadays, there is no way to explain its effect characters. On the basis of the study on living matter characteristics, a breakthrough is possibly made through the systematic cooperation even though it is the difficulty to detect the life function effect. It is especially displayed in the substantial study on meridian points. Hence, the study on the law of meridian point effects on the basis of clinical practice has to be focused on in the substantial study on meridian points.

Chronological Review on Scientific Findings of Bonghan System and Primo Vascular System.

In 1962, Bonghan Kim in North Korea published a report on a new vascular system in mammals, which he claimed as the acupuncture meridian. He soon named it the Bonghan System. Between 1962 and 1965, he published five reports, with detailed descriptions on the system. Kim also described the self-regenerating nature of a unique cell type Sanals in the system and these cells are now confirmed to be a type of stem cells. According to his findings, the system appears to have vital roles in maintaining mammalian lives. Kim disappeared in around 1965 and the research on this system also completely stopped. In 2002, Kwang-Sup Soh reported re-discovery of the system and, since then, his team has been leading the research on the system. The Soh team has confirmed many of Kim's findings to be valid, although so many of Kim's results are still to be verified. In 2010, the system was renamed the Primo Vascular System (PVS). Soh and researchers trained by Soh have also been reporting new scientific facts on the system. The PVS exists throughout the entire body, including inside the blood and lymphatic vessels. Recent reports revealed more evidence for it to be the acupuncture meridian, where some acupuncture therapies are applied for the blood pressure control. Thus, the PVS is expected to have roles in the oxygen transport in tissues. Many study results also suggest that the PVS may have roles in body homeostasis and regeneration. This article chronologically reviews Kim's scientific findings on the Bonghan System, which were verified by the PVS scientists (after 2000), and also the new findings reported by the PVS scientists.

A Hyaluronic Acid-Rich Node and Duct System in Which Pluripotent Adult Stem Cells Circulate.

Regenerative medicine is in demand of adult pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). The "Bonghan System (BHS)" was discovered and suggested to contain cells with regenerative capacity in the early 1960s. It had been ignored for a long time due to the lack of sufficient details of experiments, but about 37 years after the initial report, the BHS was rediscovered and named as the "primo vascular system." Recently, we have discovered a similar structure, which contained a high level of hyaluronic acid, and hence, named the structure as hyaluronic acid-rich node and duct system (HAR-NDS). Here we discuss the HAR-NDS concept starting from the discovery of BHS, and findings pointing to its importance in regenerative medicine. This HAR-NDS contained adult PSCs, called node and duct stem cells (NDSCs), which appeared to circulate in it. We describe the evidence that NDSCs can differentiate into hemangioblasts that further produced differentiated blood cells. The NDSCs had a potential to differentiate into neuronal cells and hepatocytes; thus, NDSCs had a capability to become cells from all three germ layers. This system appears to be a promising alternative source of adult stem cells that can be easily delivered to their target tissues and participate in tissue regeneration.

Will the Primo Vascular System Finally Solve the Mystery of Acupuncture?

Abstract Background: Bonghan Kim, MD, initially introduced the “Bonghan System” in the 1960s as the architectural framework for acupuncture meridians and points. It has taken researchers more than 40 years to duplicate his work and successfully describe this additional circulatory system within the body. Objective: The aim of this article is to describe how the now-renamed Primo Vascular System (PVS) relates to acupuncture. This article explores the research that has been completed to date on the PVS and comments on the possible relationship between the PVS and acupuncture. Conclusions: Even with >100 articles on the PVS, research is just beginning. A successful link between the PVS and acupuncture meridians and points could provide the explanation for acupuncture's effects—an explanation that skeptical Western medicine practitioners have long pursued. Small-animal studies dominate the current research, providing more information about the PVS but limiting the ability to unquestionably link the PVS to acu...

History of Bioelectrical Study and the Electrophysiology of the Primo Vascular System

Background. Primo vascular system is a new anatomical structure whose research results have reported the possibility of a new circulatory system similar to the blood vascular system and cells. Electrophysiology, which measures and analyzes bioelectrical signals tissues and cells, is an important research area for investigating the function of tissues and cells. The bioelectrical study of the primo vascular system has been reported by using modern techniques since the early 1960s by Bonghan Kim. This paper reviews the research result of the electrophysiological study of the primo vascular system for the discussion of the circulatory function. We hope it would help to study the electrophysiology of the primo vascular system for researchers. This paper will use the following exchangeable expressions: Kyungrak system = Bonghan system = Bonghan circulatory system = primo vascular system = primo system; Bonghan corpuscle = primo node; Bonghan duct = primo vessel. We think that objective descriptions of reviewed papers are more important than unified expressions when citing the papers. That said, this paper will unify the expressions of the primo vascular system.

Primo Vascular System: Past, Present, and Future

Primo Vascular System: Past, Present, and Future

Historical Review about Research on “Bonghan System” in China

The meridian-collateral theory is the theoretical basis of acupuncture-moxibustion therapy. Professor Bonghan Kim, a professor of the Pyongyang Medical University of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, claimed that he found the anatomical structure of meridian-collaterals, named Bonghan corpuscles (BHCs) and Bonghan ducts (BHDs) system or primo vascular system (PVS), in 1962. From 1963 to 1965, researchers from our institute conducted a series of comparative anatomical experiments, trying to reproduce the so-called BHC- and BHD-like structures in different strains of animals. In the present paper, the authors introduced their research findings about BHC- and BHD-like structures in the young rabbit's umbilicus including its external appearance, ectoplasm and endoplasm, and about strip-like and node-like objects in the blood vessels and lymph vessels near the larger abdominal and cervical blood vessels and chromaffin tissue in the back wall of the rabbit's abdominal cavity and between the bilateral kidneys. In spite of existence of the BHC- and BHD-like structures in the rabbit, there has been no proved evidence for their association with the meridian-collateral system described in acupuncture medicine. In the present historical review, the authors also make a discussion about the significance of those findings.

Growth of Microgranules into Cell-like Structures in Fertilized Chicken Eggs: Hypothesis for a Mitosis-free Alternative Pathway

According to Bonghan Kim's theory of anatomical reality for acupuncture meridians, DNA microgranules known as Sanals are key functional components in the primo vascular system (formerly the Bonghan system). To investigate this issue, we developed a new system, an incubator bound to a phase-contrast microscope, in which we cultivated and then observed for 10 hours microgranules taken from 3-day-old chick embryos and from blastoderms of fertilized chicken eggs. With this system, we found that, over time, the microgranules grew in circular patterns to become cell-like structures. In the embryo specimens, we found two distinctive microgranule growths, which developed into cell-like structures over 10 hours. In the first case, a microgranule of about 1.0 μm in size developed into a 3.3-μm-sized cell-like structure, with a pattern of concentric circles. The growth rate of the diameter of the first microgranule was, on average, 0.23 μm/hour. In the second case, a 2.5-μm-sized microgranule developed into a 5.4-μm-sized cell-like structure, which also exhibited a pattern of concentric circles. The average growth rate of the diameter of the second microgranule was 0.31 μm/hour. In the blastoderm specimens from the fertilized chicken egg, we also found three distinctive concentric growths. Interestingly, one of the three blastoderm microgranules grew very quickly, from about 2.5 μm in size to about 5.5 μm in size during 5 minutes of incubation. This was followed by steady growth to about 7.0 μm in size during the next 10 hours of incubation. In the final step of our investigation, we confirmed that the cell-like structures that had grown from the microgranules stained by acridine orange had DNA signals. We believe that the data obtained with our experimental method provide a clue that a mitosis-free alternative pathway for cell formation may, indeed, exist. We also suggest that this new function of microgranules (Sanals) might be related with the acupuncture meridian called the primo vascular system.

Bonghan circulatory system as an extension of acupuncture meridians

The Bonghan system is a newly-discovered circulatory system, which corresponds to classical acupuncture meridians and was discovered in the early 1960s by Bonghan Kim. Despite its potential importance in biology and medicine, it has been ignored or forgotten for a long time. Only recently have most of its significant parts, such as the Bonghan system (BHS) inside blood or lymph vessels, on the surfaces of internal organs, and in brain ventricles, been confirmed. For this, novel methods using modern technology were necessary because Bonghan Kim did not describe his methods. For example, Among other methods, the discovery of a BHS-specific dye, trypan blue, was one of the most important original contributions that made BHS observation possible. With this technique, the BHS in adipose tissue became traceable, and the BHS was discovered on the fascia surrounding tumor tissues, a finding which may have great significance in relation to serious health problems in modem society, namely, obesity and cancer. Key words: Acupuncture meridian; Bonghan corpuscle; Bonghan duct; cancer; Regeneration; Trypan blue

Comparison of the Characteristic Features of Bonghan Ducts, Blood and Lymphatic Capillaries

Objective To show that the characteristic morphological and ultrastructural features of a Bonghan corpuscle and duct presented here are consistent with the description given in the early reports of Bonghan Kim. Materials and Methods We compared the morphological aspects of Bonghan ducts with those of blood and lymphatic capillaries on the ultrastructural level to display the manifestly distinctive nature of the Bonghan system. Results The walls of the ductules were observed to be composed of a single layer of endothelial cells with characteristic rod-shaped nuclei and were not surrounded by a basal lamina or by accessory cells, such as pericytes or smooth muscle cells. The abluminal cell membranes of Bonghan ductules were not attached by anchoring filaments to the fibers of extracellular matrices as observed in lymphatic capillaries. The cytoplasmic processes of ductule endothelial cells appear to form overlapping and interdigitated interconnections which completely lack junctional elements. Although the cytoplasm of ductule endothelial cells contained a well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum and many free ribosomes and polysomes, there was a relatively small number of pinocytotic vesicles and lacks specific organelles, such as Weibel-Palade bodies. Conclusions The Bonghan corpuscles are specialized structures consisting of different types of immune cells randomly scattered as single cells in the matrix or clustered in follicle-like formations. Moreover, the Bonghan ductules in the corpuscle contain flowing immune cells and occasionally basophilic bodies.

Bonghan System as Mesenchymal Stem Cell Niches and Pathways of Macrophages in Adipose Tissues

A new technique for visualizing Bonghan ducts (BHDs) and Bonghan corpuscles (BHCs) was developed by using a vivi-staining dye, Trypan blue. The dye stains BHDs and BHCs preferentially to adipocytes so that tracking a BHD and a BHC, even inside adipose tissues, is possible. Concerning the functions of the BHD and the BHC in adipose tissues, we propose conjectures: the Bonghan system may be niches for mesenchymal stem cells, which can differentiate into adipocytes, and pathways for macrophages involved in adipogenesis.

Proteomic Analysis for Tissues and Liquid from Bonghan Ducts on Rabbit Intestinal Surfaces

Research on the Bonghan system has recently prompted great interest in the theory proposed by Bong Han Kimin in the early 1960s. In order to study the biochemical characteristics of the Bonghan system, we analyzed Bonghan ducts (BHD) on the surface of rabbit intestines and characterized the liquid in the BHD at the level of the proteome. Proteomic analysis was performed using nano LC-ESI MS/MS. Using a solution digestion technique, we identified 70 different proteins in the liquid of the BHD. We used gel-based digestion to analyze the BHD itself and our results showed the presence of 207 proteins. We used these proteins to analyze gene ontology (GO) to yield insights into biological processes, molecular functions and cellular compartmentalization. Remarkably, GO clustering showed high concentrations of proteins involved in metabolism. These proteins are not usually found in blood, lymph or blood vessels, and thus can be useful for characterizing BHD. It is worth studying their association with stem cells, especially mesenchymal stem cells, cancer cells and myeloid cells.

Novel Anatomic Structures in the Brain and Spinal Cord of Rabbit That May Belong to the Bonghan System of Potential Acupuncture Meridians

Novel threadlike structures of 20 to 40 μm in diameter were observed running afloat in the cerebrospinal fluid of the brain ventricles and the spinal central canal of a rabbit. We developed an effective in situ staining technique using hematoxylin to visualize the threadlike structure. The presence of the rod-shaped nuclei in the threadlike structure was confirmed by various nucleus specific staining dyes such as 4′,6′-diamidino-2-phenylindole, propidium iodide and yoyo-1. The threadlike structure was surrounded by a cellular membrane, whose presence was visualized by using 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate staining. The location, diameter, optical transparency and the presence of rod-shaped nuclei in and the surrounding membranes of the threadlike structure were consistent with a nerve Bonghan duct. The Bonghan duct was claimed to be the extension of the physical substance of acupuncture meridians and to be a distinct type of circulatory system present in mammals. Although Bonghan theory has not been reproduced for a long time, recently, some portions of the Bonghan duct network were confirmed in various organs in mammals including blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and enteric organs. The novel threadlike structure in the central nervous system, more specifically in brain ventricles, is one in a series of findings in an attempt to rediscover the Bonghan duct network.

Feulgen reaction study of novel threadlike structures (Bonghan ducts) on the surfaces of mammalian organs

Threadlike structures on the surfaces of internal organs, which are thought to be part of the Bonghan duct system, were first reported about 40 years ago, but have been largely ignored since then. Recently, they were rediscovered, and in this study we discuss the Feulgen reaction that specifically stains DNA in order to identify these structures on the surface of rabbit livers as part of the Bonghan system. The distribution, shapes, and sizes of their nuclei are found to be similar to those of intravascular threadlike structures. The endothelial nuclei are rod-shaped, 10-20 mum long, and aligned in a broken-line striped fashion. The threadlike structure consists of a bundle of several subducts, which is a characteristic feature of Bonghan ducts and distinguishes them morphologically from lymphatic vessels. In addition, the Feulgen reaction clearly demonstrates that the subducts pass through a corpuscle, which is usually irregular or oval-shaped and is connected to two or several threadlike structures that form a web on the surfaces of organs. Furthermore, spherical granules of about 1 mum in diameter are detected in the subducts. These granules were well stained by using the Feulgen reaction, which implies that they contain DNA. According to previous reports, a granule is a type of microcell and plays an essential role in the physiology and therapeutic effect of the Bonghan system and acupuncture. This role has yet to be elucidated.

Analogy between the Magneto-Optical Properties of Fish Light Organ and the Bonghan System

Analogy between the Magneto-Optical Properties of Fish Light Organ and the Bonghan System