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Meridian (Chinese medicine)
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Meridian , also known as channel, in traditional Chinese medicine, is the common name of vessel, (also known as channel) and collaterals. It is the path of running qi and blood, connection zang-fu viscera, communication inside and outside, and run through top and bottom. In Japan, "meridian" is known as "keiraku" and in Korea it's known as "kyungrak".
It is from the techniques and doctrines of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including acupuncture, acupressure, and qigong.
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Meridian , also known as channel, in traditional Chinese medicine, is the common name of vessel, (also known as channel) and collaterals. It is the path of running qi and blood, connection zang-fu viscera, communication inside and outside, and run through top and bottom. In Japan, "meridian" is known as "keiraku" and in Korea it's known as "kyungrak".
It is from the techniques and doctrines of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including acupuncture, acupressure, and qigong. According to these practices, the body's vital energy, "qi", circulates through the body along specific interconnected channels called meridians. There is no physically verifiable anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.
Main concepts
In TCM, patterns of disharmony (ie, bad health and emotional disorders) in the body are thought to be caused by disruptions of the body's energy flow along a series of acu-tracts. To correct those disruptions, specific points on the meridians called acupoints are stimulated via needles, moxibustion, applying pressure or other means.
There are about 400 acupuncture points and 20 meridians connecting most of the points, however by the 2nd Century CE, 649 were recognised in China. Such 20 meridians are usually called the "twelve regular channels" or "twelve regular meridians" , with each meridian corresponding to each organ; nourishing it and extending to an extremity. There are also "Eight Extraordinary Channels" or "Eight Extraordinary Meridians" , two of which have their own sets of points, and the remaining ones connecting points on other channels.
The twelve standard meridians go along the arms and the legs. They are: Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Urinary Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Triple Warmer (aka Triple Heater), Gall Bladder, and Liver. These terms refer to biological functions and not the structural organ, which is why there are some on the list with no corresponding anatomical structure.
Meridians are divided into Yin and Yang groups. The Yin meridians of the arm are: Lung, Heart, and Pericardium. The Yang meridians of the arm are: Large Intestine, Small Intestine, and Triple Warmer. The Yin Meridians of the leg are Spleen, Kidney, and Liver. The Yang meridians of the leg are Stomach, Bladder, and Gall Bladder.
The table below gives a more systematic list of the meridians:
| Meridian name (Chinese) | Yin / Yang | Hand / Foot | 5 elements | Organ |
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| Taiyin Lung Channel of Hand or Taiyin Lung Meridian of Hand | Taiyin (greater yin) | Hand | Metal | Lung | | Shaoyin Heart Channel of Hand or Shaoyin Heart Meridian of Hand | Shaoyin (lesser yin) | Hand | Fire | Heart | | Jueyin Pericardium Channel of Hand or Jueyin Pericardium Meridian of Hand | Jueyin (absolute yin) | Hand | Fire | Pericardium | | Shaoyang Sanjiao Channel of Hand or Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian of Hand | Shaoyang (lesser yang) | Hand | Fire | Triple Heater | | Taiyang Small Intestine Channel of Hand or Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian of Hand | Taiyang (greater yang) | Hand | Fire | Small Intestine | | Yangming Large Intestine Channel of Hand or Yangming Large Intestine Meridian of Hand | Yangming (yang brightness) | Hand | Metal | Large Intestine | | Taiyin Spleen Channel of Foot or Taiyin Spleen Meridian of Foot | Taiyin (greater yin) | Foot | Earth | Spleen | | Shaoyin Kidney Channel of Foot or Shaoyin Kidney Meridian of Foot | Shaoyin (lesser yin) | Foot | Water | Kidney | | Jueyin Liver Channel of Foot or Jueyin Liver Meridian of Foot | Jueyin (absolute yin) | Foot | Wood | Liver | | Shaoyang Gallbladder Channel of Foot or Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian of Foot | Shaoyang (lesser yang) | Foot | Wood | Gall Bladder | | Taiyang Bladder Channel of Foot or Taiyang Bladder Meridian of Foot | Taiyang (greater yang) | Foot | Water | Urinary bladder | | Yangming Stomach Channel of Foot or Yangming Stomach Meridian of Foot | Yangming (yang brightness) | Foot | Earth | Stomach |
A standard teaching text comments on the nature and relationship of meridians (or channels) and the Zang Fu organs:
From the beginning, however, we should recognize that, like other aspects of traditional medicine, channel theory reflects the limitations in the level of scientific development at the time of its formation, and is therefore tainted with the philosophical idealism and metaphysics of its day. That which has continuing clinical value needs to be reexamined through practice and research to determine its true nature..
Hypothesized relationship to other traditional medicines
Authors Hernán García and Antonio Sierra argue that the Chinese meridians have their counterpart in the Mayan acupuncture techniques practiced in the Yucatan. They say that the analogous concept is that of wind channels, and that most of the key points in Mayan acupuncture correspond with key acupuncture points in the Chinese meridian model.
Author Alberto Villoldo indicates that these Chinese meridians coincided exactly with the flux lines or cekes which are known to Inca medicine people as ríos de luz, rivers of light that flow within the luminous body. The kawak, the seers, can see the rivers of light or cekes along the surface of the skin. And Shamans throughout the Americas rely on their ability to massage the points where it was blocked so that the light could flow freely again.
Criticism of TCM meridian theory
See also: Acupuncture: Criticism of TCM theory
In 1694, during the "quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns", after having seen some meridian diagrams from the Lèi Jing and misinterpreting them as anatomical drawings, British Scholar William Wotton wrote this famous criticism of TCM:
- It would be tedious to dwell any longer upon such Notions as these, which every page of Cleyer's book is full of. The Anatomical Figures annexed to the Tracts, which also were sent out of China, are so very whimsical, that a Man would almost believe the whole to be a Banter, if these Theories were not agreeable to the occasional hints that may be found in the Travels of the Missionaries. This, however, does no prejudice to their [Medicinal Simples], which may, perhaps, be very admirable, and which a long Experience may have taught the Chineses to apply with great success; and it is possible that they may sometimes give not unhappy Guesses in ordinary Cases, by feeling their Patients Pulses: Still, this is little to Physic, as an Art; and however, the Chineses may be allowed to be excellent Empiricks, as many of the West-Indian Salvages [Savages] are, yet it cannot be believed that they can be tolerable Philosophers; which, in an Enquiry into the Learning of any Nation, is the first Question that is to be considered.
Skeptics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) often characterize the system as pseudoscientific. Proponents reply that TCM is a prescientific system that continues to have practical relevance. Others will say that this is a simple communication mismatch between the reductionist Western medical system focused on form, and the holistic Eastern system focused on function, and that they are both valid ways to approach development of knowledge.
See also
Bibliography
- Lo S.Y. (2002) . Medical Hypotheses 58(1):72-76.
- J. Kwon et al., "Scanning probe microscopy study of microcells from the organ surface Bonghan corpuscle", Applied Physics Letters, vol. 90, article number 173903, 2007. (Note: This 2007 paper has quite some references related to Bonghan Kim's theory on meridians.)
External links
- Images showing the pathways of the 12 main meridians plus the Ren and Du Meridians
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