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Foundations
Morphological of Acupuncture:
An AnatomicalNomenclature of Acupuncture
Structures
clausC schnorrenberger

Summary Westerntextbookstry lo make us bel'eve. Correctly

ELlropeanmistranslationsof oriSinal Ch/nesetexis understood,acupuncture"points"ate anatomical
have not merely intrcduced incorrecl concepts to and morpholo:lical structures which in most cases
Westernacupunctutists,but have adverselyaffected c a n e a s i l y b e d e l e c t e dw i t h t h e n a k e d e y e
treatmentmethods. The FrenchdiplomaLSoulie cle (e.gS . l . 1 BA, P 1 B S , i . 1 9C , B . 2 0 ,L U . s ,1 1 . 4C , Il 34,
Morant published an important treatise, and many more).In fact thesestructures visillle are
"L'acuponctureChinoise",in 1939; this hasfomed hollowsor elevations on the exter'orof the human
the basis ol Westernised"traditional" chinese o r g a n i s me,x p l a i n i n tgh e l o g i c a d
"Foramen"
l erjvatioo nt the
acupuncture. Becausehe hacl no medical originalterm (Xue'wei)- Most western
background,he was unable to interpretthe medical a n d m a n y C h i n e s ep u b l i c a t i o n cs o n c e a lt h L s
,tEnili,dn,e ol tr"dilionrl ahina'e ' on cpt- in thl importantfact.And in particularit is not rnentioned
LerL,th.t he had ,e"d. Ure hc, oulclnot \cp lhata in the foreign languaBetexts on acupunctureby
firm basisol medical knowledgeis necessarytor the C h i n e s ep u b l i s h i n gh o u s e sa, s f o r i n s t a n c ei n
"Outline ol ChineseAcupuncture"ot "Essentials ol
rcliable practise of acupuncture, thus unwittingly
inttoducin7 acupuncturc as a playgrcund for lay Chi neseAcupuncture" 1,2). (
theraptsts. S u r p r i s i n B l ym , o d e r n C h i n e s ea u t h o r s o f
The two most importantmistranslations were: i the acLrpuncture textbookswhen wfiting in Western
use of "point" lor Xue wei, which would be better l a n g u a g etse n d t o t a c i t l y c o p y o u t t h e W e s t e r n
translatedas "foramen"to give fhe impressianof a acupLrncture terminologywithoutnamingiG oriSin;
three dimensionalslructure;and ii. Qi, which is a the resultsare, as a mattel oi course,erroneous
particularly difficulLconcept to translate,but is Westerntransationsof the oriSinalChineseterms.
c e r t a i n l y n o t e q u i v a l e n tt a t h e W e s t e r nt e r m Westernreaders are misleadin theirassumplion that
"energy".Theseerros have now been acceptedinto theseworks referto genuinesoulces.They cannot
standard usagethrough their transcriptioninto perceivethe abovementionedimpl'cations and are
modern, westernlaDBuage, ChineseLextbaoks therefore defrauded of the opponunityto understand
Westernaa:upuncturists are mainly unawareat' the the essence of Chineseacupuncture. The authentjc
substantialanatomicalbasisfor the nomenclaturcin sources arestillthe oriSinalclassical Chineseworks,
a c u p u n c t u t e ta n d i n r i e e d o i t h e a n a t o m i c a l whjch to a Sreatextenthave not yet been translated
knowledgeol the ancient Chinesephysiciansas into Westernlangua8es- Duringthe I960s,'70sand
e x p r e s s e di n a r i g i n a l C h i n e s en e d i c a l t e x t s , o d ' \ ' 8 0 . ,r l - r e - . m e d r , . l, o l " ; e ' r r t r e P p o o l p .
examplesol which areBivetl in thispaper. R e p u orl n f I h i n . p L b l i . h c d' o m p r l aor r ' u f ' n m c
ancient textsin modernChinesecharacters(Mao
_ fsetung's
reformatioo n f t h e C h i n e s ec h a r a c t e r s
Key words introduceda so called shortform, which however
Acupuncture, Acupoints, Anatony, Nomenclature, doesnot containthe full information of the classical
Trad iti onaI Ch i nese med i ci ne. characters.) These revised texts contain valuable
informationbecausethey integraterecentclinical
Introduction experience in Chinaas well as new technlques and
The typjcalChineseexpression lor the acupuncture additional or newforamina (polrlis)-
point is Xue Wei which correctlytranslated means The problemwith acupuncture in Europeis to be
"pit-place","hale-spo|"or in somecontextsrhesl'1In seenin a lackof generalmedicalknowledge of early
the language of classical acupunctufe this term is E u r o p e a t
n r a n s l a t o rosf t h e C h i n e s ec l assics
designaied to allthe therapeutic "points", NLrrferous uncorrected errors are contained in the
commonly " L ' a c u p o n c t u r eC h i n o i s e " ,p u b l i s h e di n
which are by definition and in reality not points at w o t k
a l l b u t b o d i l y s t r u c t u r e sT. h e s es t r u c t u r e sa r e 2 v o l u m e sb y t h e F r e n c hn o v e l i s ta n d d i p l o m a t
describedthreedimensionallyin classicachinese CeorgesSouliede Morant. His work appearedin
texts.Accordingly,"poirts"of acupuncturedo not P a r i si n 1 9 3 9 a n d s t i l l i s t h e b a s i so f m a n y f a l s e
existbecausethey are not one- or two dimensional a s s u m p t i o nisn W e s t e r na c u p u n c t u r e loday (3)
c o o r d i n a t e so n t h e s u r f a c eo f t h e s k i n a s m o s t S o L r l i ew, h o p r o b a b l ys p o k ea n d u n d e r s t o o d

A. up uncLure i n Medl( i n," 89 Novenbet 1996 Vol 14 No.2

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C h i n e s eq u i t e w e l l , i n t r o d u c e df o r e x a m p l et h e
incorrecttranslation"poirt" insteadof the general
Chineseterm Xue-Weialthoughhe was welt aware
o f t h e t h r e e - d i m e n s i o nnaal t u r eo f t h e c l a s s i c a l
acupunctlrre structures. ln his book he quitestresses
t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t if ce a t u r eo f t h e p o i n t sa s h o l e s
(foramina) or as hollows,but nevertheless chosethe
word point as his translation. ln particularhe is the
originatorof the ambiguousterm "energy"for the
ChineseQi as he himselfadmits"fautede mieux". II,'J
The latterhas leadto endlessmisunderstandings in
European acupuncture. Furthefmore, Souliedid not
h a v ec o r r e c tu n d e f s t a n d i nogf t h e n a t u r eo f t h e
metidiarc(Jing-Luo) which are time orientatedas
well as anatomicaland topographicai by definition.
A s a r e s u l tS o u l i ec o u l d b e c a l l e dt h e f a t h e ro f
"Euro-Puncturc", the playgroundof many laymenas
w e l l a s p h y s i c i a n sb, e c a u s ei t s e e m e dt h a t (tu .:Ji:
accordingto SouJie,solid medicalknowledgewas
not absolutelynecessary for the reliablepracticeoi Eri9e
acupuncture, #r.ffi
Anatomical and topographical informa on
conlainedin original acupunclurc le.ms Plate2. LinBShu,Chapte.3l.
T h e o l d e s t t r a d i t i o n a lt e x t r e l a t i n Bt o C h i n e s e
medicine,entitled Huang-Di Nei-JinBSu-Wen,is "Thehunan latynxis 1A Lian1
lapTox. 1|Ad heary and
quilc ' l.dr in :lsrl.l(.\o1l tl^rmdlon , or(err rB lhe 2.5 Cun (apprcx.5cn) r,ide, to thestona.h the distance
anatomicalstructures of acupunctureloramina(4). 1.6Chi" (apprcx.25cm).

Forinstance, the B sacralfofamina(Bal/ao) as welJ

a s s e v e T aol t h e r a n a t o m i c a lb o n e o r i f i c e sa r e
referredto in the 16th Fascicle, Chapter60, section
"Cu-Kong-Lun"which rneans "Essayon the Bone
Orifices"lsee P/are /, original pag€ of the su-Wen,
Chapter60, containingthe Chinesecharacters for
t l - eB - a , r " l l o r d m i n drJ5 / . r h e \ d , a l f o r " m i r dd r e
known to modernEuropeanacupuncturists as the
w>- p o i n t s B l a d d e r3 1 , 3 2 , 3 3 a n d J 4 . T h e y a r e ,
t 1^E ;il; however,not in lact "points"but well described
bonestructures.
4ffi# The samechapterof the su-We, is alsoconcerned
itrth with the anatomicalstructures of numerousother
r,tr* b o n e so f t h e h e r m a nb o d y . l t i s n o l o n g e rj u s t
E4F a s s u m e db, u t h a s b e e n h i s t o r i c a l l p y r o v e n ,t h a t
'iffillL medicalpractilioners in ancientChina carriedout
extensiva e n a t o m i c asl t u d i e s f 6Tl .h i s f a c t i s s t i l l
l\tr widely unknownin Westerncountries,neithernon-
3rn p h y s i c i a n e n t h u s i a s t sn o r m a n y m e d i c a l
)2rE acupuncturists with specialised trainingareawareof
the exacthistorical context.
Moreover,the second part of the Huang-Dl Nei
JinB,Ihe Ling-Shu-Jing, sometimesreferredto as the
" B i b l eo f A c u p u n c t u r e "c, o n t a i n sd o c u m e n t a r y
evidenceof anatomical studiesin ancientChina.For
Plate1.5u Wen.Chaptet64. exampleChapter31, ChangWei-Lun,which means
"Essayon the lntestinesand Stor?ach"
middle:"Ihis totunen @)nment:rcfe6 ta Stamach12, Bivesan exact
accountof the lengthand structureof the different
Que Pen)liesbetweenthe tupafthe shouldetantl thc
h o t z . - ' t ' h . " t d q b o " , \ , n r p ' t . t . - | d \r : l sectionsof the digestivesystemwhich coulclnot
left:"lt is possible(comment:fq backpain and tenicularpain) havebeenachievedwithoutpreviousand thorough
Io puncturclhe E sa.Jalforamina(Chin:Ba Liaa)and the points d i s s e c t i o no f t h e a r e a sc o n c e r n e d( 7 ) ( P l a t e2 l
ofpain.Ihe 8 saualforanina lie in depr$sionsbetweenthc originalpageof lhe LinB-Shu-JinB, Chapter31, see
lunbar and sactatrcBbns." also Table I) (8, 9).

Navenber 1996 Val 11 No.2 9A \.upun.tLne tn MedLne

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I H t M I A s U R T M T \I S O F I H I D I G E S I I V I\ Y s T E M
f r o mL i n s - S h lui n 8 ,C h a P l e3r l
Measurements: Chinese
oi slonrach l5Chin.lect lcht) o 25-|.
1 . Pharyfxto enbance

l 3 C h i n .t e e t 5.80m
( D u o d e n ! m, n d J e j ! n u m )
2l Chin.lecl 1.60m
( l e u mw i t h a s c e n . l i n B
and tr)nsve6ecolon)
2 . 8 C h i n .i e e t
l D c s c e n d i nasn d s i E m o i d

Comparisonofancient Chin€seio modernmeasurements

RatioofOelophaSus: Intestnes
1.6:56.8Chin.t= e e tI r J 6 Plate4.Iane Ren'hu XueZlen liu Tu1i18,Fasci.tF1
= 1::t7 Iftnslatian lftun left to riSht):
0.25:9.25m
a) "TheShangLiaa(Bladder31)caDsists af 2 fotaminabath
si.lesaf the centteof thesPine,which lie in depresstans ot the
hilhestbane .njfices,1 Cun beiav'the bone proje.tions"ltetets
ta the latuetnedial naryins ofthc ilia..rest)
b)"The Ci Liaa(Eladder32) consi'tsai 2 to nina both sides
of the cente of the spine Thev lie in deptessions af lhe secand
banearifice" (of the Os sactun)
c) "TheZhon| Liao(Biadde.33) consktt of 2 fotanina both
sidesof thecentteal the spine lhey lie ln.lepresslansot the
thid banearifice"(of the Os sacrun)
d) "The XiaLiao lBladdet34) cansistsof 2 fatanina bdh sides
b the centreaf the spine.Ihey lie in depressians ofth€ foutlh
bone orifice"bf the Os sac.un)

II l i I L I 1
t
l
t
rt i

'4&W EvEM'
ii,\'xX
_', Wl.rttr-

^=44'
t F i ) t l , E + - + t + + E + +Trl
3 \,*,1,=*r.g :,2,n, q^=*, *t
i;i$ffi;fr
tr,l.lEE
iltl4liX
tEfreft4f
6r1.fltir,t
R,r,4
D$+i1Et r
aiigir
O ":4" (+:lq) firili'FH=i'1f "--l',
i6r!IJE=i "=i'.
(fa) t4tfr.,1 -r$,^\trfr
,1ft*r6'r
t.ffi I r+ri 1!
(i&iEr X?,EH:!iiElL+, it6*2, r!+1tE=I 8tE,
trT-5Ein:+.F. Afilt6'=-ii.
t F ' l l d E . 1 i f: : G 4 c 6 r , i , l
'J+E. {= E .,E,.r- €,='"
{ft1
\-i.
(iE+r ,.81.
(Si:l F9iEF=i{rd}LF, riE.lxz, + +E:A-5
i+i
t l
I
e&IzrA. eFtt4'=-i,

Plate3. ZhenJiu lia YiJinS,Fas.icle3 Plate5. TongRenShuXoeZhenliu Tuling, Fasci.lP1

"Ihe YansLins Quan(Callbladdet31).onsinsaf 2 Fadmina

Containsantoni.atdetaik an thepositionofthc I sactal
lotaminaCiLiao lBladderi2), zhans Liao lBtact.let3J), and tier 1 Cun belaw each kneein Ihe nid.lle of thc
XlaLiao (Bla.lclet34). .Jeptessionsofthc wai Lian"(= headoffibula)

91 No\etnbet 199b Val l1 No ./

AcupurctLre In M e.li c ine
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l n a d d i t i o n ,t h e w o r k o f t h e f a m o u sp h y s i c i a n
Huang Fu-Mi, entitledZhen,Jiulia-Yi-ling which he
c o m p i l e di n 2 5 9 A D , c o n t a i n sa n a b u n d a n c e of 4 , 3 i { F. ,g t n
exact descriptionsof the anatomicalstructures of 4$i.f+ r* € f4 *'i!
acupuncture loci (Plate3) (10). r31.€: F fi
T h e p r i m a r y s o u r c eo f i n f o r m a t i o na n d e x a c t - 6 E" J,i
anatomicalaccountsis howeverthe classiclon6 3#. z*^tpry
Rer, the CopperMan f:i7) (seealso Plates4, 5,6 f
and 14). Platel providesdocumentaryevidenceof
t o p o E r a p h i c a al n d a n a t o r n i c a li n t o r m a t t o n
concerningthe foramina Bladder31, 32, 33 and 31,
found in this text in classical
classical japanesework of acupuncture
Chinesecharacters_
dating from
A t
the middleof the '19thcentury,which waswflttenln
Chineseand thereforeread in China, containsan t1,
a n a t o m i c a l l ya c c u r a t ei l l u s t r a t i o no f t n e s a c r a t 1 -
foraminaT . h i s w o r k m a y a l r e a d yh a v e b e e n
influencedby earlyWesternanatomy,but it stands 'F
L o - p d r ' \ o r \ ^ r l h a 1 ) ^ o d c r ' l d ' 1 d l o r r i t , J r l , a sa s ' a r
a s i t s p r e c i s i o ni s c o n c e r n e d( P l a t e s7 , 8 ) ( 1 2 ) .
4E

Ptate 7. OtiEinal page fran rhe classicalwark Jins Xue Hui-lie.

dt +tF
tlfi'

-A{ hE

A
l*

,\
B.
u
Pl

Oti9lnal paqe fron the classi.al work Jing-Xue

Plate6. TonERenShu Xue ZhenJiu Tuline, fascicle1. these illustrationsin the ling-Xue Hui-Jie,as he
p u b l i s h e dt h e m i n h i s v , t o r k( 1 3 ) .^ s d n o n -
"TheYanELins physician,however,and withoutsufficientmedical
Quan (Callbladder31).onsist;af 2 Fotanina
and lies 1 Cun below each kneein the mitldle af uE knowledgeand understanding, he was not capable
depresstans ofthewai Lian"(= headofftbula). of interpretinB t h e i r m e d i c a la n d a b o v e a l l
morphologicalsi8nificance, and just addedto the
This issueis provenby comparingit to an almost conluston-
identicaJillustrationof the sacralforaminawhich Also, in his predicament, he soughtrefugejn the
hasbeentakenfrom a well knownanatomical atlas term "erer8y'for the ChineseQi. ln rcality,"enetgy"
of our day (Plateg). Ovet and abovemany other explainsnothing but only repJaces one unknown
structures,which cannotpossiblybe referreclto hefe tactor by anothef, resulting in lhe ',energetic"
in full, the /lng-XueHuilie describesthe foramina a c u p u n c t u r et h e o r y , p o p u l a r i n t h e E u r o p e a n
YanBLing Quan (Gallbladder34) and Yin Ling acupuncturesceneof today.The medicalessence
Quan (Spleen9/ with greatcompetence(Plates10 and foundationsof the importantclassicaltexts
/2). The author Soulie de Morant was aware of remained out of Soulie'sreach-

Novenber 1996 Vol 14 Na.2 92 Acupu ncture i n Medici ne

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How greatthe suggestive elementof the false,eafy

Europeantranslations of Chineseacupunctlrre texts
actuailywas,is illustrated by the factthatthe authof
o f t h i s a r t i c l eh i m s e l fa d o p t e dm a n y a m b i g u o u s
F r e n c ht e r m sd u r i n gh i s e a r l yd a y sa s a r . e d i c a
E (
C
g
a u t h o r -H e w a s , i n f a c t , f o r c e d t o d o s o a s h e (

f
o t h e r w i s ew o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n u n d e r s t o o di n (
acuplrncture circles.ThisappJies for exampleto the
incorrectuse of the term "ener1y"lot the Chinese
expression Qi which he still usedin his translation
of the work Huang-Dl NeiJinBLing-Shuin 1974 (14).
t:
Plate 11. Otder af the rJetidiarsand fotaminain the
interc%talspa.eslfrcm the "ling Xuc Hurlie").

j*g*tr

Plate12. Vertebralsttuclures,scapula,humetusanct
"ling Xuellui lie")
Piate9. VenttalanddaBalvie\r ofthe os sactunt tapollaphy of sone fotamlnalfrcn the

EuropeanAcupuncturc: Discrepancies and Risks

It followsthat it is not only a rnatter of unqualified
controvers,but can to sorne degree explain why
\ \ p r l p r no t i i r . r ' .d r o J n r \ e r . . i e \ r i l l o r e ' c , 8li'"
a c up un c t ur e . E u r o p e a n a c u p u n c t u r es o . r e iles
thernselves, with theirthousands of members, rnake
Eravemistakes pertaining to Chinesemedicineand
acupuncture.In additionthey olten passon false
i n { o r m a t j o tno t h e i n t e f e s t e p d u b l j c ,t o . . e d l c a l
o o ( o r \ d - . u ri a l i o r s r r d m ' d i , J l i , l . L r r d 1F'
companies.The errors oi Western authorseven
spreadasfar asChina,the cradle oi acupuncture-
"holes",
While the Chinesestill correctlyreferto
"nests"and "piis" (originalter.a: Xue Wel) when
speakingof needleand rnoxatherapy(Zhen-Jiu) in
t h e i r m o t h e rt o n B U et,h e s es a m e s p e c i a l i s t
t a
s lk
about "poinis" of acupuncture when dealinB $'ith
interestedWesternpatties(1,2).The onLyrelatlvely
insignificant exceptions are a few pointson the ear
and the 18 'hew" acupuncture pointsof the hand,
PlaE 1a. 1he fotamenvin LinEQuan(Spleen9) w h i c h e v e n i n m o d e r nC h i n e s ea r e a l s o c a l l e d
ftom the "JingXue Hurlie. "points"(Dian).

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In the author'sopinion, an acupuncturist who is: humanbody in the senseof upper(superior), middle
L not acquainted with the histoficaland anaromrcat- ( m e d i a l a ) n d l o w e r ( i n f e r i o r )T. h e C h i n e s et e r m s
t o p o g r a p h i c a lt,h r e e d i m e n s i o n a lb a s i so { t h e "Shang"(uppetl, "Zhong"(middle)and ,X/a,,(lower)
foramina,who: havethe samemeaning.Thesetermscan neatlybe
ri. perhapsout of misguidedtraditionalperception translatedinto a Latin anatomicalnomenclature
neglects the thoroughanatomicalfoundationof his w h i c h i s i l l u s t r a t e di n T a b l e2 . T h e o n l y t w o
dailywork,and who: exceptionshere are the basic terms yin and yarg,
i / r ' . c a n n o t r e c o g n i s e t h e m o r p h o l o g i c a l , which are of a pre-categorial character,i.e. they
topographicaa l n d a n a t o m i c a ls i g n i f i c a n c eo f have no equivalentin ouf occidentalAristotelian
acupuncture s t r u c t u r e ss,h o u l db e s td i s c a r dh i s t r a d i t i o no f t h i n k i n g a n d s p e a k i n gi n t e r m s o f
needlesand closehis practice.He is certainlya risk categories. The integrationof time and spacethat
to his patientshealth.Thisappliesas muchtodayas y l r - y a n g i m p l i e sh a s n o e q u i v a l e n ti n m o d e r n
it did duringthe periodof the classicbook ling-Shu Westefnlanguages at all f2Z.
J i n g 2 0 0 0 y e a r s a g o , w h e r e e x p e r i e n c ew a r n s D u e t o t h e c o n s i d e r a b l ea n d c o m p r e h e n s i v e
a g a i n s tu n s c h o o l e dt h e r a p i s t as n d t h e r e s u l t i n g d i f f e r e n t i a t i oonf m e d i c a l a n a t o m y ,m o d e r n
dangerousinjuriescausedby poor acopuncture. anatomicalnomenclattrregoesas a matterot course
E v i d e n c eo f t h i s f a c t c a n r e a d i l y b e f o u n d i n into Ereatdetail, as the contemporarystandardwork
historicalaswell as in contemporary literaturef/5 26). "NominaAnatomicafillustrates (28).The traditional,
d n a l o m , ca . h n e r e " , u p u n rl u e t e r m \ d r e i n
The Thrce'dimensional Orientation of comparisonmore simple, but often a great deal
ChineseMedicine in the Human Bodv nioregraphic.Neveftheless, the conformityin many
B e s i d e tsh e t h r e e - d i m e n s i o noarli e n t a t i o ni n t h e cases,the objectiveand logicalparallels,and the
world and environment, the correctstructural order analogies of our anatomicalnomenclature with the
of the humanbody also playsan importantrole in traditional Chinesenamesarenotonly evident,but to
the ancientChineseacupuncture texts.Theclassical a largedegreeanatomically andtoposraphicalJy proved.
C h i n e s eo r d e r o f s p a c e i s d e r i v e df r o m t h e I a b l e 3 s u m m a r i s etsh e C h i n e s et o p o g r a p h i c a l
correlatjonbetweenheaven,mankind ano eartn, synonyrns tor the genericterm rxue Wel" (literally:
M a n i s s e e n a s b e t w e e n h e a v e n a n d e a r t h . hole spot,pit-place) on the humanbody as we as
The Chinesecharactefs"Tiar" (heaven),"Ren"(man) other topographicalnameswith their translations
and "D/" (earth)ar€ thereforeoften found in the a n d c o m p a r e sw , h e r e v e rp o s s i b l e t, h e L a t i n
n a m e so f a c u p u n c t u r e f o r a m i n a( T a b l e2 ) . I h e y e q u i v a l e n tw, h i c h m a y u s u a l l yb e f o u n d i n o u r
s e r v et h e t h r e e d i m e n s i o n aol r i e n t a t i o no n t h e modernanatomical nomenclature.

CENERAT
TOPOGRAPHICAT TIRMS OF CHINESEMTDICINEFORTHREE.DIMENSIONALORtINIAfION ON THEBODY
TraditionalChineseropographi.al Terms LatinAnatomicalTrandation
t C r a n i ai s
Zhong = Medianus Centralis
Di 1O (Earth) T Ca!dalis
Traditional English fraditional English
Chinese M€aning Chinese Meaning
YanB [E wai tl
Yin FX
Qian Ei You E nSnr
Sinister
HenB .ffi Obliquus
Bei H Dorsalis
ru BE
R e g l op e r i n e a h s

tr
Ial Yans ,t[E

Mian F tu Yin ::Pff

jinc tn HuiYin AFA
xions l@
Regionesabdominales
Bei ?f

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Table3
cHfNESE TOPOCRAPHICAL AND ANATOMICAT FORTHEBAslcIERMXue'Wei
SYNoNYMS
fonmina
of someilpiel acupunclure
wilh eramples

Traditional English Latinanatomical

Examples

1stcRoUP: meaning"hole,hollow"
,\fi pit K t . 1 3N, Pl 3
st.18,81.31-34, AP160
Tang
t*
halJ
1
DinB
ft
lcatinusl
st11, BL_49
LU.1
L l. 1 7
t
Cong lDomusl PC.8
CanE d tHorreuml st4, 81.50
"gate,door.opening"
2ndGROUP:meanin8
ll door,gate tu.2, Hr.7, AP112
sT_11,cv17
tr mouth,estuary st38
Chuang st.16,5116
f, bowl IScutulal sl12

3rd CROUP:meaning"bodyof water,wat€rcourse"

T E . 1 0C , 8.21
,n8
Ze r+ poot,pudote tstagnuml 1 U , 5 ,P C . 3 I
Zhu
chi it
is
pond
ve,
ILacud
Kt.t5
1I.11
TE.11
I
auan IFonsl K L 1 ,K t . 5
au LU.8
Cou ra groove, channel Canalis 1 R . 5C , V26
14 't,"u- tRivrsl 1 t . 5 ,S P l S
ffi abundantwater tAbundantial Kt.14
Q' ii receipt of water Receptaculum
aquae 5tl
E sea,ocean IMarel sP.10,
cv6
Chong i$ risincwhirlpool IVortexl BL,3
Kt.7

4th GROUP: meaning"depression,

vall€, path"
cu t; K1.20
11.4,
xi t4 Rivus 1t.5,Kl.3
st28, c8.28
"hill,elevalion"
5rhGROUP:meaning
shan dr 8 L . 5 7A
, P4
Lins [n m o u n d ,h i l l Caput PC.7,G8.34, SP.9
)ian + A P 1 4 6 , 8 78, 8 , 1 0 6 , 1 5 1

"bone.bonestructure"
6th GROUP:meanine
C U F Os Ll.t6,AP1s7
sT.3,8t.31-34
Jian lEl Spatium Lt.2,3
"boundar,€dge
7rhGRoUP:meaning
Cuan ;€ PC.6,1R.7,
TE.5
Margo 1t.8,9
LR,4

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Traditional English

8th CROUP: meaning

Dlrtantia 1t.13,
St35

9th GROUPTmeaning",unction,meetingplace,distribution"
C8.42
{ crosslng SP6
Ji distribution IDistributiol 81.41

1oth GROUP: meaning"tendon,blood vessel"

[;i. vesel 81.62
E tendon C V 8 , A P 1 4 7 ,B 1 . 5 6C
, B.2]

1 1 t hG R O U P :meaning"place,plain
fi (niarket)p ace 51t3,cB.3l
N P7 7 ,A P 9 5],] 9
Ting IE innercourt st44

12th GRoUP: meaninS'crevice,cleft, split

xi (Aj) cleft P C4 , H T 6

13th GROUP: meaning poinl

Dian N P4 1 , 5 0 ,H a n dl - 1 8 ,E . rl
"bodypartsandorgans"
14thCROUP:meaning
, yaro,eroow LU.5
lF abdomen 5P16.14
5 1 . 91, 4 ,1 5 , T E . ] 4
l@ chest SP19
Er E ear T E . 2 1A, P ] O
Bi A P 1 5 ,1 6 ,N P 1 2
Cap!t sr8
ffi upperabdomen Epiganri!m c v ] 0 ,r 2 ,1 3
F lumbarresion CV2
^fl8[6 innerorsans 81.12-2A

15th GRoUP: Poini namesrefeftinSto tems oftradilional chinesemedicineor indicaiions

Feng lil wind lventurl 8 L . 1 2A , P 137,C8.2O,CV.16
s t . t 2 ,A s P2 8 , 6 8 , 8 9
Qi lvis vitalisl c v 6 , A P 5 9 , S t t t , I 3 , K t . t3 , A P 4 1
slt0, Kt.5
Zhong L U . t ,K t . 1 5 , 2 6
Kl_7,81.44,CV.24
Liq!oftSuc!t IE-2
Ian w A P3 3
,n8 t4
n
nlght,darkness,lower etc. cannotbe translated C V 1 ,S I 3 3 , C V 7 , B L . 6 Z ,
K t . 1 01, 1 ,A P 1 6 6 - r 6 8C, B . l t ,1 t . 9 1, 1
day,briSh(ness,
upper,etc. cannotbe translated c v 9 , c B . . l 5 ,3 4 , 3 3 , C V 3 8 ,A P 9 ,
1 1 . 5S, T . 4 2S, 1 . 58, 1 . 4 8 5
, 5 , 5 9 ,C 8 . 1 4
sPtl
fll K1.25
(ZanB)

Novenber1996vol 11No.2 96
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"point" nafies
on the meaning of the original
in classicalacupuncture NOMENCTATURE ORIGIN
The maiorityof the European acupuncturists are not f O R A M I N A( % )
O F T H [ 2 0 3A D D T f I O N A T
a w a r et h a t t h e o r i g i n a n a m e so f t h e C h i n e s e croup Topo- Effect PhysiologyOther Total
foramina are derived either from the anatomical graphy (chin Med)
topography of the humanbody,or in rarecasesfrom l - l e a da i d 20 13 0 I l4
t h e i r e f f e c t ,i n t h e s e n s eo f t r a d i t i o n a C l hinese
m e d i c i n e I. n a d d i t i o n t, h e c o n c e p to f m o d e r n Th.rraa
x nd 23 12 I 1 39
Westernmedicine is at best incorporatedin the
a c u p u n c t u r e" p o i n f "n a r a e so f e a r a n d s c a l p Backand 25 l0 0 I 38
acupuncture.In some casesthe AddilionalPoints
( A P ) a n d N e w P o i n t s( N P ) a r e n a m e do u t o f U p p e r 4 0 8 0 l 4 e
conceptions of traditionalChinesemedicalth€ories
More often, however, their names contain L o w e r 3 6 7 0 0 4 3
informationpertaining to the anatomy,topography,
therapeuticeffector iraditionalphysiologyof these Totaf 144 50 3 6 2O3
foramina. % 7 1 2 5 1 3 l o o
A maiority of the namesof the 361 well-known
classicalmeridianpointsmakeexpJicitreference to
anatomical topo8raphy. Iable 4 shows how the
originalnamesof the foraminaon the 14 so_called NOMENCLATURE ORICIN
Main Meridiansmay be classified jnto the following
o f T H E1 1 8 N I W T O R A M I N Ae / . )
A o u p ' : d . r o p o 8. o h r b . e f f e r, . , . p h r so o g v o f Topo_ tffect PhysiologyOther Total
r . o . t i o n rLl l ' r e . e^ c o r ,i n e . . r dd . o l h e r ,r i p r t a l
croup
Siaphy (chin Med)
is cJearthat anatomicaland topographicalnames 2 0 0 I J 3 7
Dredorrinate,as 259 of the 361 are thus named.
T h i s i u s t i f i e st h e t r a n s c r i p t i o on f t h e t r a d i t i o n a l 3 0 0 6
C h i n e s en a m e si n t o t h e t e r m i n o l o g yo t m o d e r n
Westernanatomy(29).Only 51 of the 361 meridian 6 1 2 4 0 1 8
Backand
points are named after their effect,'14 aftertheir
c h a r a c t e r i s t i ci sn t h e s e n s eo f t h e t e a c h i n g so f 6 0 0 2 1
traditionalChinesemedicineand only 7 havetheir
ofientalionin othertraditionalaspects (e8. lung 77
15 0 0 lrr
= L i t t l e 5 t h n o t e o f t h e C h i n e s em u s i c a ls c a l e ;
Largelntesline1 = 5th note of Yang;Spleen5 = Htll 5 6 0 0 118
Total 62
of the 5th note; Sma///ttestine 6 = Careof Old Age; o/. 53 4 7 0 0 100
Pericardium8 = Palaceof Work; ConceptionVessel
2 ? = R o t a t i n gA x l e , r e f e r t i n gt o a n a s t r o n o m i c
constelation). I n s h o r t ,i n t h e o r i g i n a lC h i n e s et h e n a m e so f
almosrT2okof the 361 meridianpointsare derived
from topographical or anatomicalstructuresOf the
NOMENCTATUR OER I G I N Additional Points (or PaM)thereare 71'k (Table5),
O T T H E3 6 I M E R I D I A NF O R A M I N A( % ) of the New Points 537" lkble 6) in this cateSory.
The nomenclature of the foraminaof the ear ls irom
PhysiologyOiher Total
grapny (ChinMed) a d;fferentsource.Someo{ them bearthe original
ll name 'bolnr". The .najority,i.e. 186 out ot 192
l0
17 2 2l) foraminaof the ear,relateto an innerofganor an
4 0 4 45 affectedpart of the body or to their therapeutic
5T
21 etrect(Table7). Only 6 of the 192 ear tofamLnaare
SP
3 )
n a m e d a f t e r a n a t o m i c a lt o p o g r a p h ya n d i t i s
HT
1 interestinB t o n o t e t h a t t h e s e6 o r i S i n a l ef r o r n
S1 6 2
5l tl I
c l a s s i c a l x t s .T h e p l a u s i b l er e a s o nf o r t h i s i s ,
t e
BL
15 5 27 amonSotherthings,that the outer struciureoi the
KI characterlstlcs:
I 9 ear offersonly a few mofphological
PC in the anatomyof
2) that is few differentiating criteria
TE 17 3 3
the ear cornpared to the relatively large numberol
CB 2 8 9 7
2
known eaf foramina,
11 |
2 0 5 3 28 I t s h o u l da l s o b € t a k e n i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i otnh a t
CV lDM)
a u r i c u l o t h e r a p yi n i t s p r e s e n tf o r m h a s b e e n
cv (RM) 12 1 5 25
only recently, mainlythroughthe work of
51 361 developed
folal 259 physician
the renowned French PFM Nogier f30)
72 14 12 2 100
and several o l h e r m o d e r n c h i n e s ed o c t o r s .

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NOMENCTAfUREORICIN
O F f H E 1 9 7 E A RF O R A M I N A( % )
tr
Croup Topo- Effect Physiolo8y
Other Total
grapny
13
(chinMed)
0 0 1l
m
Tra8us l 9
2 0
0
0
0 10
2
m
: 0 0 1
AntitraSus 0 18 0 0 18 E
tl 0 0 13
7 0 0 7
C r u si n f . a n t h . 0 ,1 0 0 1
Triangular
Plate 13. NeNe distribution ofthe eaL
13 0 0 13
17 0 o 1 7
medicinewere taken into account only in a few
0 0 t8
C r u sh e l i c i s 1 5 exceptions(eg.Ear 35, 55, 76, 77, and 159).A new,
0 0 6
C r u sh e l .f e 8 i o n 0 t2 m o d e r n . a a a r o m i c a l l ra n o t o p o g r a p h i t a l l l
0 a 12
12 o l | e r l d l a d1 0 m e 1 . l J t u . es e e . l \ , l h e r e l o r en, o r "
0 o 12
8 0
s!itablefor auriculothefapy
0 8 as well, particularly as
3 9 0
the effectof the nerveswhich supplythe ear and
0 4 1
Total 17 186 I a l - m ' l r h e r e s u l lo. f a , u p u n tr u r eo n t h eo r g a n i s m
0 0 t97
9 4 0
a n d t h e i n n e r o r g a n sc a n b e m o r e c l e a r l y
0 100
distinguishedfPlate /J). Examplesof anatomical
namesof the acupuncture foraminaof the primary
This fesultedin the effectsof the earfofaminabeing m p r i d i d nr o l a l i o nr l , i 1 g t o 5 p l e e l \ 4 e . i o . d n .m d )
expressedin terms of Westernmedicine,which be seetlin TableB t31-2).
explainswhy the conceptsof tradjtionalChinese

ACUPUNCTUREFORAMTNAOF fHE PRIMARYMERIDIANCIRCULATTON

(LungMeridianio SpleenMeridian)

L U N CM I R I D I A N
L U . S h o uT a i Y i nF e i l i n g
Great Yin ofthe Arm - LungMeridian{Lu)
LU.1 Zhong F!
P a l a c eo f t h e M i d d l eE u r n e r
(the Lungand SpleenMeridiansmeetto fom the lal-ytn)
LU.2 YunMen....-...
Clold gatelrefeu to topographyof rhe,,uppea,
tU.3 TianFu.........
Heavens house(refe6to locatjonon upper arm)
LU.4 Xia gai
O n b o t hs i d e so f t h e l u n s s
(colouo r f t h e l u n s s- w h i t e ,C h i n .B a t
LU.5 Chi Ze
Ell puddle (or Ell pond) (toposraphyand anaromy)
Lu.6 Kongzui
D€epenhole kefe6 to topographyand effect)
LU.7 Lie Que
A4aneeme.ri. a depie$ion tropo8raphy)
LU 8 linq Gu
Croove ofthe meridians course(topography)
tU.9 Tai yuan
Deeppond (topography)
tu.1a vuJi......... ..
Flankof a fish kefersto firhlike appearance
o f t h e b a l lo f t h e h a n d )
L U . 1 1S h a oS h a n g( s e e a l s o L l . l )
Little5ih nore(5,5ana is the 5th noteofrhe chinesemusicalscale,correspondinS
PulmonaFPectoral-BrachialRadial-Proi€ction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A. axjllarts,V axi aris IR. ventralisn. rhoraciciU
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V c e p h a t i c1ap e c t o r a t i s
thorax)
..............Vcephatica2dehoidessuperior
. .V cephatica3 dehojdesinrefior
. .Tendom. bicipitk Iar€ratis(art.cubiti |)
. . .A. radiatisproximatisl, Vv. radiatesproximalesl
IR.supedicialis n. radialit, M. bra.hioradiatisdistalis
.procersus stytoidesradii iN. radia|r, R. supe.ftciatisl
A. radialtsproximatis2, W. radialesprox.2
tR superficiatis N. radialis,C5_Thtl
.A. radiatisdistalis,Vu radiatesdEtares
IR. super{iciatjs n. radia|s,C5_Thtl
.... . . . . M .a b d u c r op ro l t i c ibsr e v i ;
........Va umunBukpollicjsradiatis(A.erVpalmaris
p o l J i c irsa d i a l h )
ro metal= LundlarSeInrestine)

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LARCI INTESTINE MERIDIAN

Lt. ShouvangMing Da changIing Radial-Brachial"Ceivical-lnfraorbital'Proiection
Bright Yangofthe Arm - LargeIntestineMeridian(Ll)
Ll.lsr'a'Avang(seeasoLU.ll)......VallumunguisindicisradiaislNdisitalisdo6alislb,
R .s ! p e r f i c i a l n
i s. m e d i a n u s l

5th noteof YaDa(Shargis the 5th noie of rhe Chinesescale,corcsponding to metaI = L! ng/La€eIntestine
Lt.2 lian N digitalisdonalisla t N r a d i a l ies t R s u p e r f i c i a l i s
2nd spacehefersto topography n medjanusl (Art. metacarpophalangea 2 dist )
distalmetacalpophalanseal joint)
tt \ tan tDn N . d i g i t a l i ds o | s a l i 1
s b t N . r a d i a l ies t R . s u p e rt i c i a l G
3rd space(iopography proxima metacarpopha ansealjoini) n. medianusl(Art. metacarpophalansea 2 prox.)
L.1 HeGu M . a d d u c t o r p o l
c l i s 1 t N . r a d i a l i s ' C 5T hl, N.
M e e r i n gp o i n ti n t h e v a l l e y( o rr a t h e r ' B o nV
ealley") u l n a r i s- C 8 - T h 1N ; . m e d i a n u-sC 6 T h l l
IL YanpXi Fo$a radialis(articulatiocarpometacarpea po licis)
Yan!vall€y (or ransdepresion;
refersto structureand lopoEraphy)
Ib PianLi N. curaneusantebrachiiposterior1 [N. radialis]
Branchinsofi paih (ruoVessel branches offhere)
L).7 Wen Liu N cutanelsaniebrachiiposterior2 lN fadialGl
C i r c ! l a t i o no f w a m t h
Ll.8 Xia Lian N cutaneusantebrachiiposterjor3 tN radialisl

Ll.g shangLi;n . .. . ii poneior 4 tN radjalisl

. N. cutaneusantebrach

L l . l 0 S l ' o us a n I i .... .. .. . . . M e x t e n s ocra r p ir a d i a l i lso n g u s( M s l p i n a t o r )

Threemeaslrfements ot the arms tN.radia,, r profu.dus; C5-Thll
(ri= Cun, ;.e. 3 Cun below the elbow when arm is extended)
1r.11 QuCr,i......... .......... . M b r a c h i o r a d i1 a (l ias' 1c.u bt i l ) t N r a d i a l i s ,
A r c h e db a s i n r r m u s c l l a r e sc;5 T h l l
Lt.12ZhouLiao....... ....... N . c u t a n e ubsr a c h i i l a t e r ai nl ifse r i oI r I N .r a d i a l j s l
Crooveof the elbow (toposraphY)
L1.13 WuLi . N . c u t a n e ubsr a c h ilia t e r a l iisn f e r i o . 2t N r a d i a l i s l
F i v ep a t hm e a s l r e (st l = C u n ,t e . a C u n b e i o wL U . l )
Ll.l4 ai Nao M d e l t o i d e u3si n f e r i o r
Shouldernruscle
Lt.15 JianYu . M de loideus1 superior[N axillaris(N cutanels
s h o u l d ebr o n e{ o r : c o r n eor f t h e s h o u l d e r ) b r a c h ilia t e r a l issu p e r i o f ) l
Lt.16tucu.......... . . . N n s u p r a c l a v i c u llaarteesr a l e I Cs 3 - C ' U
C i a n tb o n e( 1 . ec. l a v i c l e )
L1.17 TianDing....... . . . N t r a n s v e r s cuo, l l i t Pe x u sc e r v i c a l i s l
Heavenlysaucepan
"uppef', "heaven)
{refe$to positionofthe neck:
L l . l 8 N e c k - F !I u ..... . N . a l r c u l a r i sm a g n u s1 l P l e x u cs e N i c a l l s l
Lateraloverhang(Prominentiaaryngea)
1t.19 Nose-HeLtao . . . . . N. infnobiialis et rr buccale,1 tTriseminls/Facialisl
G r a i i d i t c h( t o p o S r a p h y )
L))a vinl ^ianl . . . . . . . . . . .......... .. . .. .. N infraorbitae nu s / F a c iias l
l i tsr r .b u c c a l e2s t T r i 8 e im
Greetne ofthe scentlrefersto eilect)

STOMACH MERIDIAN
sT. zu YangMinB wei JinB Facial-lniercostal-Femoral-Tibial-Proiection
BriShtY.ngof the leB- slomachMerididni51)
sI.1 ChengQi . . . . Suturazvsomaticomaxillar s
Receptionot tears
S L 2 S i B a i- . . . . . . . . . . . . F o r a m ei n. f m o r b i t a l e
B r l g hvt i e w i n a l l f o u rd i r e c t i o n s
SL3 )u iiao Fossacanina
Enormou5ditch (topography)
SL4 Dicans M. buccinatorl
Eadhg;nary (for the five cereals)l.e. mouth
sT.s Da vig Nn buccalesa Rr.buccales (sensorvIN triseminus
Creat g;eting (refers lo function) Vl and motoric tN facialis Vlll anastomos6)
5I.6 JiaChe M masseterIN ma$etericLrs (motor')
cart ofthe cheek N mandibularis, TriseminusVl
(refersto shapeofthe two mandib!lar bones topo8raphv)
ST.7 Xia Cuan N . a u r i c u l o t e m p oi lsa1 t N . m a n d i b u l a r i r ,
Lowerbader (Arcuszygomaticusinlerior refersto topographyl N . t r i g e m i n uVsl

r
Acupunctu.ein Med icine 99 November1996 val 1,1No.2
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5T.8 Io! Wei ... ....... . . N .z f 8 o m . r r i c R l s.,z l S o n r a r c o r e n r p o r a t j s

I l c . d b i i r J , , r el o r : a i g e o i i r c h e a d- r e r e Et o l o p . ) . q t u p h y r L N m . x 1 . .s , N . r i i 8 ; m t r , r v r
S i l t l R e ny i r g M e , n b r a r ar h y f e o i c l ; a r e f , r l s
a'eetrDE o i l h e l ) e o p. l r c r e Br o r r y n r a i . l t h e! o i . e l
5 Tl 0 . t f i u Ii ! .....i\4.semoc.r.tomartoidclsra^reror
P i s . g e o i n ! t f l l o r r o w a t e . ,r c i e ui o p h , , , s i o l o E l i
5lll Qt the . C a ! ] . ! t r : t e r n ai s
I om. oa re bicath tseJroi brcal|i.fN eir (r.i-"rsto ,-iicc|
sY.r2 Que Pcn . . .Clrvic! a fr-..1i.,1 s
r f c o m pc t . k e ! i i . . , .[ o i s as u p a c ] a ! ] . ! l a . i st :o p o g r . p h \ , 1
5 Tl : l Q i H u . N t e . t o r a ts l a l - . r ai s t p t c \ l s b r , r . h i asl l
C . r l eo i t h c b r e ; l h( o . n r r a n . e . i d r c a ? i :. e i e r t o c f i c . pa6 jrir!.lavi.! .r 5l
5I.11 KuFang . . . N . r L e , c o ( a l i|sl n j e d i r s
L a L e r , r l s t o r .rgoco . r n i a i r : f d Q r l
STl5 Wuyt ....... .. . . N .i f l - " r c o si tsa0 2 n r e li t ,
F l i d i i Ep . r ( el r b r. l f e n d Q r l
SLlr yinltchuang . . .N. ir(er.ona|s 0l mcdia i
\ ! r n . l o wo i t h e . h e n l i o p o 8 r a | l r y l
5 I 1 / R uz h o r y . . . . C c f r . ! . ) n r r n r . e L N i i l o . o s L j i 0 t n r c . t r ai i l
C e n L roei d r c b r e r i l
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H i d d e nb r s h t n e $ t i b i a l i st N d i s i i ai sd o r s a l ips e d i sl l
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. . N d g i t ai s p a n t a r j sp r c p r i u 3

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meta poinrof the nieridian)
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. . . . . . . . N .s a p h e n u

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o p c n i n gi n t h ev a l l c y( i . e .i n a S r o o v eb e h i n dt h et i b i a )
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i sh l 2 - L r l
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throughth-"navel)
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5P-17 ShiDou . . . . 05 Laterals
N. intercostalis
Nutritions openingkefersto lnd cat on 1or
lactationand digestlon)
SP.1P,TianXi .. . N inlercostais 04 lateralis
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S P ] 9 Xiong Xiang . . . . . . . . . . .. N. nlercostalk03 aleralis
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02 aleralls
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AcDpu ncture i D Med i ci ne 101 Navenbet 1996 Vol 11 Na.2

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Conclusion
I t i s n o 1d i f f i c u l tt o c o n c l u d et h a t t h e i n 8 e n j o u s I l A c a d e h ] ,o f T r a d i t i o n aC h i n e s eM e d i c i n e( ' 1 9 7 5A) n
a u t h o ra n d c r e a t o ro f l h e c l a s s i c aCl o p p e rM a n Outline ol ChinescA.upuncturc. FoteiA. LanBuag.sprc$,
(Platel4), LhephysicianWafg Wei-Yi(98/ 1067
2 . B e i j i n sC o l l e s eo i T r a dr i o n a lC h i n c s eM e d j c i n €S , hanshai
A.D.),would havenamedthe acupuncture foramina C olleBo e f T r a dr i o n a Cl h i i e s eM e d c i n e ,N a n j j n sC o e s ; o t
'liadit
afterthe terminoJogyof the Noml/raAratomica if he onal ChineseMed cine, and thc A.uprnciure Instrtute
w e r e a l i v e a n d w o r k i n g i n h i s f i e l d t o d a y .t J i s o f r r a d i t i o n aM l e d i c i n e( 1 9 8 0 ) E s t c n t i a losf C h i n e s e
C o p p e rM a n i s a n a t o m i c a l Jey x e m p J a r ay n d a.upurclure. for€i8n Lansuagcs Press,tleijifg
: r . 5 o u i e d e M o r a n t ( 1 l 9 . 1 9L) ' a c u p a n c t u t c C h i n a i s e ,2
c o m p l e t e l ya n d a c c L r r a t e lm y o d e l l e de v e n b y y o l u , r e sP. a rs r V o. I , p l 9 I l . , 2 3 a l l . , e t .
modernstandafdsf33).This ancientmodcl,which 4 . H u a n l jD i N e i - J i h5Eu W € r , ( S i m p l ee l e s l i o n so i l h e l n n e r
has recentlybeen investigatedand describedby Classicof the Yellow [mperor) 7t6J Ncw ti]/toD. RenMin
P r o l e s s oH r o n g c h i e nH a o f t h e C h i n a M e d i c a l W e i S h e nc h ! B . r ns h c ( P u b l i s h i nH s o l s e o l t h € p e o p t es
College,TaichunEi, Tajwan,is exhibitedin Tokyo.lt l r y Be n e ) B , c i j j n BC: h a p r e6r 0
NeiJiDgSD-wenl11872)anltn1atedition.pti etl
is hollow and can be opened;ori8inallyit probably 5. ittuan*Di n 5! Zhou
c o n t a i n e dr e p l i c a so f t h e i n n e r o f g a n sw h i c h , 6. HuanBDi Nel-ltnELinEsha Trans.Schnorcnbe€erCC et
unlortunatel,no longerremainaJ4J. In the Chinaof al., see Refcrcnc€7 and HuanE-Dj Nei Jrjs Su-w;n jiaa.yi,
thosedays,however,a highlydetaileddissection of 2 vatumes.i982) Publish-"dby ShanDonCZhofS yi Xle
t h e h L r m a no r g a n i s mw a s u f c o m m o n ,a n d i t s Y ! ! n , P u b l i s l r i nHg o ! s e o f r h e p e o pc ' s H y g t e n e B , etjiiS
microscopic histological exploration, as practisedin 7 . S . l r n o r e n b e r s eCr C e t a l . 1 1 9 7 1 JK l a s s i s c hAek u p u n k t u t
modefnWesternanatomy,impossible. lt foliowsthat . J . . _ . . . H t . . . . \ - . t d p. . h E " | \ , , , r n
in the text relatingto the Copper Man, cornmon P H , . . . . D ! b . / . . . / . . o \ / . r . 8 q 2 o r 8 ' t . . r o n , u - t I
namesof traditionalChinesemedicinefor the parts r . c l ' . ' . b . 8 6 . , i t r 8 8 D . . - - J . . , \ " . - . ^ / d . . . / r J
of the human body were chosento diffefentiale d e r A k u p u n k t u r( T h e Y e l l o w E m p e r o r , sC a s s i co f
d r , r l o - : r , r r. t L , t J t F . .l h p r m e r n r g . a . o i n m o s l a . HAcupu ncturc),2r.1 €dittor. I lochschu Vcr ag, Freiburg:2J4{
D i n r - D i j i a Y i - l i n He, d . 6 y H u a n s F u M j . t h e D i s p o s e r l
c a s e s i d e n t i c a lt o o u r m o d c r n a n a t o m i c a l Cla$ic oI LheYcllow E.rperor beftefknown a5Zherrtulja
topography and morphology- Y i j i r g . t h e D s p o s e dC l r s s i c o l A c ! p ! n c t u r e a n d
M o x i b u ( i o n .l 2 F a s . i c l e s , ,V1o i . 8 y H l a n e F u M i ( s h t A n )
( 2 1 52 8 6 A . D I c o m p ie d 2 - 5 9A . D . a f d d i s p o s ed u r i n gt h e
Professor Dr Claus C Schnorrenberger MD
Cerman Researchltlstituteof ChineseMedjcine, Q i n D y n a s r (y2 6 5 - , + 2A0. D . ) J. i a n 8Z u o S h ! - L t n( n t h e B o o (
For€nleft of rhe ltiver, Lithographr(t 9t 7l ShirnShai
SilberbachstrasseI 0, D,79100 Freiburg,Germany t ) . l a n t R e nZ h e n l i u - S h uX u e t u - l i n ? ,T h e c l a s s i c arle x t o f
illuslr,rtion o sf t h e a c u l r ! n c t u r a
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r-, ool, Md. L. I B.\\'-i!\n \',8- uh
a.D |.b.,d" . n , l 0 l a D . , , 'h , \ o I F ro8
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D a C h e r g( f h e C r c a rW o r k o f C h i n e s eH e a i n d . S h a n S h a i
D a D o n g S h u j u ( S h a n g h nEi o o k s r o r o e i t h e G r e a rE a s r ) ,
{ 1 9 3 5l 9 l 7 ) S h r n S h a i
12.line-Xuellui lie tsrmnary ard Explanaton oi the l:oramna
o l l h e M c r i d i a n t . J a p a n ,t 8 5 . 1 i n C h i n e s eA . u t h o r :y u a n
ChangKe. NcL/ e.llrior PckingacLal)erl982.Zhary\i Cr-
jl Chu-Ban 5 h e ( P ! b l i s h e rosf C l a s i c a lt _ i t e r a t uof e
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13.Souli€de Mornnt G. l',,l cuponctureChihaise.op.. t.102 3,
1 1 0 ,1 1n , 12 6 , 1 3 2 ,1 3 8 , 1 4 5 ,1 5 1 , 1 7 2 a , 1a 2 3 e t c .
r 4 . 5 c h n o f l € n b , " r 8C e rC e t a l . t 1 9 7 4 ) K l a s s i s c hAek u p u h k t u r
C l ' i r a s( C l a s i c aAl c ! p u f c t ! r eo i C h i n a )o, p . c i r .
l 5 . S c h . o r r e n b c r g eCr C e t a l . ( 1 9 7 4 ) K t a s i s . h eA k u p u n k t o l
C h D l r ( C l a s s i c aAlc u p u n c t ! r eo i C r n r . t l ! a n g d i N c j i n g
L i n g s h uo) p . c i t .2: 6 L , 1 9 0 ,3 9 6
1 6 .S c h n o r e . b e r SC c rC 1 1 9 7 4S) c l c c t a
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l 7 . C a t r o n H , E p n c i n B S ,C r J n d B { 1 9 7 . 1C ) o m p t i c a t i o nosf
acupun.rure./ourral o/ Ihe Ameican Me.li.al A$acidtian.
228:1552 4
r8. ProkopO (19761Dts.h. Gesundhejtrr.35:16A1
I9. S.hnorcnber8e CrC ( t 9 7 8 )s e / e . r a- 1 j5 . j 6 5
2 0 .B r e t t eHl F ( l 9 8 1 )M r r c h . M e c l . W s . h1t .2 J : 9 7
2 l . M a j o r P ( 1 9 8 2 ) K o r r p l i < a s l o n e vr e d a k r L r u f k r u r
bcha.dlinS.Ii./sstfNofsk t aegcfDren 6. 102:J923
2 2 . ( l 9 8 l l A k ! L r u n k t ! r i a d en a l s E n d o c a r or r s o r s a c n e .
, 4 - " . " . . u - . t _ . , J . .| d , .r 4 r l . -

2 l . C e e D J { 1 9 8 4 1l : i r t . rp n . u m o r h o i a xd u e r o a c ! p ! n c r u r e
EtitishMedical Jauthal.28u: 114
ll.'r o. o16 'r I81 \6,r c, pu t,r;,.;n.r,
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Narenbet 1996 Vol t4Na.2 102 Acupuncturc in Medicine

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 Downloaded from aim.bmj.com on July 14, 2014 - Published by group.bmj.com

Morphological foundations of acupuncture:

an anatomical nomenclature of acupuncture
structures
Claus C Schnorrenberger

Acupunct Med 1996 14: 89-103

doi: 10.1136/aim.14.2.89

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