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THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Volume 11, Number 1, 2005, pp. 171173


Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Biophotonics in the Infrared Spectral Range Reveal Acupuncture
Meridian Structure of the Body
KLAUS-PETER SCHLEBUSCH, Ph.D., WALBURG MARIC-OEHLER, Ph.D.,
and FRITZ-ALBERT POPP, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT
This study shows, for the first time, evidence of the existence of the acupuncture meridian structure in the
human body. After moxibustion (or similar light stimulation) of the body in the 35 m range, light chan-
nels appear on the body, which appear to be identical to what are known as meridians in all textbooks of Tra-
ditional Chinese Medicine. These findings appear not only to confirm the existence of acupuncture meridians,
but they also open a new window on understanding the energy transfer dynamics of the human body. Further-
more, it is likely that living matter is not in the ground state, but permanently electronically excited.
171
INTRODUCTION
E
vidence for the existence of acupuncture meridians has
proven to be an elusive goal. There is an extensive liter-
ature concerning trials to provide this evidence (Li, 1984).
Some papers demonstrate significantly different skin resis-
tance values for acupuncture points compared to immediately
surrounding areas (Wolfson, 2003). However, in view of con-
tinuing skepticism, clear evidence of the existence of meridi-
ans would certainly be considered an important contribution
to this topic, both in acupuncture and in medicine in general.
Such evidence is offered here. The significance of these find-
ings calls for urgent replication and development of the re-
sults. These results, if confirmed, offer the potential for the de-
velopment of noninvasive diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
METHODS AND MATERIALS
Using a standard method of infrared thermography and
an Inframetrics/FLIR Therma Cam PM 290 (American In-
frared, Old Forge, NY) extended infrared camera model,
sensitive between 3.4 m and 5 m in the temperature range
from 10C to 450C, the heat radiation of the human body
can be recorded and analyzed online. Details of the proce-
dure can be found at www.flir.com.
Using this technique, typical and well-recognized images
of heat radiation, displaying normal temperature profiles
from 20C to 40C, and also differing features of non-ho-
mogeneous temperature distributions over the body surface,
are generated. In addition, one can occasionally observe un-
expected temperature gradients on the skin, though at pre-
sent these patterns are not well understood, nor can they be
interpreted in terms of useful diagnostic assessments.
However, the method used here demonstrates that after
burning a moxibustion stick as a directed heat source in a
defined manner, in proximity to a body region where there
is purported to be an acupuncture point, the meridian struc-
ture can be completely revealed. Figure 1 demonstrates this
result in the case of the stomach and spleen meridians. In
Figure 1A, the heat source is near the left leg of the patient.
As a result, the structure of the left stomach meridian and
the right spleen meridian is revealed. After changing sides,
the mirror meridian images are revealed. These results can
be consistently reproduced.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 2 shows evidence that what can be seen along the
stomach meridian can be documented over its entire length.
Figure 3 displays the same for the bladder meridian after
International Institute of Biophysics, Landesstiftung Hombroich, Neuss, Germany.
SCHLEBUSCH ET AL. 172
FIG. 1. Meridian structure revealed after burning moxibustion
cigar. A. Heat source near patients left leg. B. Changing sides re-
veals mirror meridian images.
A
B
FIG. 2. Structure along stomach meridian after moxibustion.
FIG. 3. Structure along bladder meridian after moxibustion.
moxibustion near the shoulder blade. These results were
compatible with the clinical symptoms. The meridians re-
vealed in this study showed an impressive agreement with
images of the known traditional pictures of the meridians.
All meridians can be revealed in this way.
Distinct temperature gradients of 5C/cm
2
can be fixed
and established within these wave guides, as long as the heat
source remains present. After withdrawing moxibustion, the
patterns disappear within 1 second.
There are attempts underway to explain these phenom-
ena in terms of the rather general differential equation of
R.N. Thomas (1961) and F.A. Popp (1979) for the inter-
action of radiation with matter, in particular in living
tissues:
di

/d

where i

is a measure of the observed spectral radiation in-


tensity,

is the optical thickness as a measure of the dif-


ference between the number of the contributing excited and
unexcited molecules, and s

is a measure of the equilibrium


spectral intensity of the tissue under investigation (i.e., heat
radiation). It is worthwhile to note that one of the solutions
of the equation describes just the phenomenon that is ob-
served, that is, a Gaussian distribution:
i

exp(-bd
2
)
where b is a vector perpendicular to the direction of prop-
agation (perpendicular to the direction of the meridian),
while the absolute value b is a parameter that has to be ad-
justed to the boundary conditions, and d is a vector from
the center of the meridian to the point under investigation.
These solutions represent well-known optical solitons. In
the direction of propagation the meridians are the lines of
i

. Perpendicular to this direction, bd


2
takes its
MERIDIAN STRUCTURE OF THE BODY 173
highest possible value, and the radiating pattern displays
its highest gradient.
Similar observations of meridians in the infrared range
are known from Hu (1996) and, in the case of plant tissues,
from Mandoli and Briggs (1982).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Prof. Dr. W. Klimek, Ministery of Re-
search BMFB, Germany, and Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Drr, Max-
Planck-Institute, Heisenberg Institute of Theoretical Physics,
Munich, for their encouraging discussions and valuable advice
in the correct interpretation of this exciting phenomenon.
REFERENCES
Hu X, Wang P, Wu B, Xu J. Displaying the meridian courses over
human body surface with thermal imaging system. Rev Paul
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Li D. The Jingluo Phenomenon. Japan: Yukonsha Publishing,
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Address reprint requests to:
Fritz-Albert Popp, Ph.D.
International Institute of Biophysics
Landesstiftung Hombroich
Kapellener Strae o.N.
41472 Neuss
Germany
E-mail: iib@lifescientists.de
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