The concept of meridians (Chinese: jing-luo 经络) arises 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 their existence. Shortcut: WP:CU Marking articles for cleanup This page is undergoing a transition to an easier-to-maintain format. ... This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. ... Traditional Chinese medicine shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. ... Acupuncture (from Lat. ... Acupressure (a portmanteau of acupuncture and pressure) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) technique based on the same ideas as acupuncture. ... Qigong (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: qìgōng; Wade-Giles: chi4 kung1; Thai: ) or Energy-Cultivation, is an aspect of Chinese medicine involving the coordination of different breathing patterns with various physical postures and motions of the body. ... Vitalism is the doctrine that vital forces are active in living organisms, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism. ... For other uses, see QI (disambiguation). ... Greek anatome, from ana-temnein, to cut up), is the branch of biology that deals with the structure and organization of living things; thus there is animal anatomy (zootomy) and plant anatomy (phytonomy). ... A thin section of lung tissue stained with hematoxylin and eosin. ...

Background

Disruptions of the body's energy flow (such as stagnations, blockages and redirection) are thought to cause emotional and physical illness. To release those disruptions, specific points on the meridians called acupoints, or tsubo in the Japanese practice, are stimulated via needles, pressure or other means. Emotion, in its most general definition, is an intense neural mental state that arises subjectively rather than through conscious effort and evokes either a positive or negative psychological response . ... This article needs more context around or a better explanation of technical details to make it more accessible to general readers and technical readers outside the specialty, without removing technical details. ... Acupuncture points (also called acupoints or tsubo) are specific anatomical locations on the body that are believed to be therapeutically useful for acupuncture, acupressure, sonopuncture, or laser treatment. ... Shakkan-hō Shakkan-hō) is the traditional Japanese system of measurement. ...

The Standard Acupuncture Nomenclature published by the World Health Organization listed about 400 acupuncture points and 20 meridians connecting most of the points.

There are twelve meridians on the arms and the legs. Heart, Lung, Pericardium, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Triple Warmer, Kidney, Spleen, Liver, Stomach, Bladder, and Gall Bladder. Meridians are divided into Yin and Yang groups. The Yin meridians of the arm are, Heart, Lung and Pericardium. The Yang meridians of the arm are: Small Intestine, Large Intestine, and Triple Warmer. The Yin Meridians of the leg are Kidney, Spleen, and Liver. The Yang meridians of the leg are Stomach, Bladder, and Gall Bladder.^[1]

The causal relationships between the points on the meridians and the corresponding parts of the body is still debated.

Authors Hernan Garcia and Sierra Antonio 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.^[2] The adjective Mayan is sometimes used to refer to the indigenous peoples of parts of Mexico and Central America, their culture, language, and history. ...

Criticism of TCM meridian theory

Clinical use of meridians frequently relies on the conceptual framework of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which some scholars have characterized as pseudoscientific. Proponents reply that TCM is a prescientific system that continues to have practical relevance. Traditional Chinese medicine shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. ... Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See: Acupuncture: Criticism of TCM theory

Acupuncture (from Lat. ...

See also

• Terms and concepts in alternative medicine
• Nadi (yoga)

Terms and concepts in alternative medicine provides a glossary of quick and to the point definitions of important terms and concepts unique to alternative medicine (CAM). ... In the chakra-system, a Nadi (plural: Nadis) is an energy formation which is a channel in which prana energy flows and may connect chakras. ...

References

Bibliography

• Lo S.Y. (2002) Meridians in acupuncture and infrared imaging. Medical Hypotheses 58(1):72-76.

• Nuclear Medicine & Acupuncture: A study on the migration of radioactive isotopes after injection at Acupoints Nuclear Medicine & Acupuncture.

External links

• Meridian Pathways Images showing the pathways of the 12 main meridians plus the Ren and Du Meridians
• The Mechanism of Acupuncture
• [http://www.yogawelt.com Zen Meridian and TCM resource
• A meridian chart