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The Pathway of Loop System along Human Skin

Article  in  Adaptive Medicine · December 2017

DOI: 10.4247/AM.2017.ABH188

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Adaptive Medicine 9(4): 172-178, 2017
DOI: 10.4247/AM.2017.ABH188
Review Article
The Pathway of Loop System along Human Skin
Li-Yuan Liu
College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People's Republic of China
Theoretical research indicates that there exists a pair of
the circulatory system in the Internal Classic of Yellow
Emperors, which is the blood circulatory system and
vital-gas circulatory system (VCS), termed meridians.
The twelve chief meridians is just the blood circulatory
system, but the pathways of the VCS are not confirmed.
The experimental research indicates that a loop system
consisted of a complex of sympathetic-arrector pili
muscles is hided under skin, which intermediates the
acupuncture effect and is coincident with the pathway
of VCS. Here, details of pathways of VCS along the hu-
man skin have been drawn, which include three longi-
tudinal loops and five transverse loops. The longitudi-
nal loops contain a single Orthotopic Loop around the
vertical plane of the body trunk, a pair of Main Loop
along the boundary between the inside and the outside
of the body surface, and a single Lateral Loop around
the coronal plane of the body. The transverse loops are
comprised of a Top Loop around the crown of the head,
an Eye Loop around the eyes and ears, a Throat Loop
around the neck, a Central Loop around the boundary
between the chest and the abdomen, and a Bottom Loop
around the pelvis. The acupoints along the longitudi-
nal loops have clinical effect for treating disease. It is
emphasized that the needle must always sticks with the
skin tissue when they practice the acupuncture. Do not
try to find needling sensation from the deep tissues.
Key Words: acupuncture, loop system, meridian, pathway,
skin, vital-gas
Original Term and Scientific Concept about Me-
ridian System
The conception of meridians and acupuncture was
published in the Internal Classic of Yellow Emperors
(ICYE. Chinese pinyin name: Huangdi Neijing) about
2000 years ago. This book is the highest authority
and the most important medical classic in the Chinese
traditional medicine (CTM). It elaborates system-
atic theory and healing techniques (4, 11, 12). The
Corresponding author: Dr. Li-Yuan Liu, College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xin Jie Kou Wai St., Hai Dian Dis-
trict, Beijing 100875, P. R. China. Tel: +86-10-13693121193, +86-10-62207379, E-mail: liu.liyuan@bnu.edu.cn
Received: October 8, 2017; Revised: December 5, 2017; Accepted: December 20, 2017.
2017 by The Society of Adaptive Science in Taiwan and Airiti Press Inc. ISSN : 2076-944X. http://www.sast.org.tw
172
meridian system is a set of paths. There are twelve
chief meridians with a detailed description of the
route, and eight extra meridians with a rough de-
scription. Numerous branches from the chief merid-
ians are called Network Vessels.
The function of meridians is to transport blood
and Qi periodically. The blood is transported in the
interior of the meridians and the Qi is in the exterior
of the meridians. The former meridians surely are
the blood vessels, but the latter is not clear, just as
the ancient author faced. Qi is the pronounced name
in the Chinese. The equivalent word is “gas”. Gas
in Chinese has wide implication. Qi or gas means
existing things that can be felt but cannot be seen,
just like the air. In the human body, Qi should mean
the vital substance/energy with gas-similar attribu-
tion, which can flow through the whole body inter-
nally and externally for regulating, protecting and
controlling body function. In the present study, Qi
is presented as vital-gas.
We have redrawn the 12 chief meridians
strictly according to all descriptions in the ICYE. It
is obvious that they are blood vessels (Fig. 1). The
blood is circulated and the circulation is from one
group of 6 chief meridians to another group of 6
chief meridians. Some of them is clearly called artery
for the pulse. The circulated center lies at the heart
and lung (4). As the description, vital-gas primarily
flows along skin for protected function, with 50 circles
every day along 14 meridians (12 chief meridians + 2
extra meridians)(5). Therefore, there are bi-circulatory
system in the CTM (4, 9, 10). Apparently, Chinese
scientists have discovered the blood circulation very
early than William Harvey in 18th century. Ancient
Chinese also have discovered another circulatory
system, the vital-gas circulatory system (VCS), that
we have not known today.
 The Pathway of Loop System along Human Skin 173

Radial artery Thumb artery

Brachial artery
Ulnar artery
Axillary artery

Subclavian
artery
Radial artery

Fig. 1. The comparison of the artery along the brachia, ulna and thumb (left) to the Lung-meridian with a branch at wrist drawn
strictly according to the medical classic (right) (Reference No. 4).

PSM: Propagated sensation along Acupoint: Acupoint:

meridians when acupuncture Fengchi GuaanChong

Fig. 2. Propagated sensation along the meridian (PSM) when they accept acupuncture: left is the model; middle and right is a long
pathway and a pair of large loops respectively when stimulating the acupoint (Labeled from Li DZ)*.

Evidences of Skin Loop System
Propagated Sensation along Meridians and Feeling
Loops of Qi
During acupuncture, two elements, acu-esthesia and
focal arrival, are critical for producing effects (1, 8).
Acu-esthesia is referred to Qi, a sensation of numbness,
distension, or tingling occurred at the needling site.
The Qi should be conducted along the corresponding
meridian towards distant site and arrive to focal or-
gans. After then, the likelihood of successful treat-
ment can be anticipated. It has been observed that
about 1% of patients feel Qi-like sensation propa-
gated along the meridian (PSM) when they accept
acupuncture (Fig. 2) (4, 13)*. The sensations are
including numbness, distension, wind-flowing and
worm-crawling. Mechanical pressure on skin along the
meridian line can block the propagation immediately.
These may indicate the rationale of the theory, and
encourage us to build an animal model to prove the
authenticity and the essence of meridians. The acu-
puncture signals are termed as the Qi-like streaming
for experiments (3).
In the advanced Qigong exercising, one can feel
Qi-like streaming circulation along skin loops (2).

* People's Medical Publishing House (edited). Meridian-Sensitive People. Beijing, BJ, People's Republic of China: People's Medical
Publing House. 1979, pp. 102-114, pp. 203-207 (In Chinese).
174 Liu
A B
D2
A1 B1 A2
B2
E
3
B2
A2
A1
B1
G
3
F
1
B2
B1
Fig. 3. (A) autoradiogram of the whole rat skin show paired labeled SSLs (A1-A2, B1-B2, D2). (B) the firstly new growth hairs dis-
tributed along lines or loops after shaving the rat’s hairs. (C) a pilomotor line (small arrows) appeared on the lateral back and
cheek of a rat after acupuncture at the lower back (thick arrow) (Reference No. 3).
The loops include a Small Sky Circle around the
midline of trunk and a Large Sky Circle around the
trunk and four limbs. Also, such circulation can
be blocked by mechanical pressure along the line.
These feelings also guide us to locate the skin path.
Morphological Linear System in the Animal
According to morphological evidences, the existence
of linear system in the animals can be demonstrated
in three types: the sympathetic substance line, the
re-growing hair line and the pilomotor line (Fig. 3).
Using whole body macro-autoradiography with
an iodine-125-labeled tyrosine, we localized the dis-
tribution of iodine-125-catecholamine in the rat skin
(7). In the film, labeled substance images consist
of linear arrays running from the head through the
back and to the hind limbs or forelimbs. They are
continuous with only small breaks, symmetrical on
the left and right sides, and distributed along the entire
body skin. The images can reasonably be referred to
a linear system, which we name as sympathetic sub-
stance-lines (SSLs).
When the hairs of adult rats were shaved, the
first wave of hair re-growth did not distribute ev-
erywhere, but along specific craniocaudally-oriented
lines (6). The hair-lines were 2-15 mm wide and
appeared from the head, through the trunk to the
limbs, and were symmetrical along the left and right
sides of the body. The symmetric hair-lines from
C
3 1
1
1
both sides of the body converged around the mouth,
nose, and at the pubic region or ventral midline to
form a system of hair-loop-lines (HLLs). The loops
can be differentiated into four main patterns. These
hair-lines were coincident with the SSLs in the rat’s
skin.
When acupuncture was operated or phenyleph-
rine (agonist to α receptor) was injected into the
dermis at an acupoint of rats, a pilomotor line was
occurred (3). The course of the pilomotor line was
coincident with the SSL/HLL.
Observed Reactive Zones along the Skin of Human Body
After observation of the pilomotor line in the rats, we
paid attention to the similar phenomenon in the human
body. Acupuncture or application of α receptor agonist
at an acupoint of the human body stimulated erec-
tion of fine hairs and goosefleshes. The pilomotor
hairs and the goosefleshes also occurred along skin
zones or lines in almost everybody, which might ac-
company with PSM-like sensation. These helped us
to look for the corresponding skin path in the human
body as that in the rats.
Skin Loop System of Human Skin
We were trying to look for and locate the VCS or the
rat’s-like loops in the human body for thirty years.
The details of loops along the human skin have been
 The Pathway of Loop System along Human Skin 175

1. Top Loop

2. Eye Loop

A. Orthotopic Loop
3. Throat Loop
B. Main Loop

4. Central Loop

5. Bottom Loop

C. Lateral Loop

Fig. 4. The Loop system of vital-gas circulation along human skin in the front view, back view and lateral view.

Orthotopic Loop
Orthotopic Loop
Top Loop
Lateral Loop Main Loop
Throat
Loop

Main
Loop
Lateral
Loop

Fig. 5. The Loop system of vital-gas circulation in the head crown view and foot sole view.

drawn by the combination of the theoretical paths, the
experimental paths and the feeling paths of Qigong.
The pathways are drawn in the model of the human
body (Figs. 4 and 5). These pathways consist of
three longitudinal loops and five transverse loops.
Here, the pathways are described in standing body,
with palm side facing inward. But the one of the
Lateral Loop is drawn in the human photo in the
side view, with the raising right hand and leg.
Three Longitudinal Loops
These longitudinal loops run along the head, trunk and
limbs. According to the position and/or function, they
are named as Orthotopic Loop, Main Loop and Lateral
Loop. The main flowing direction is front down and
back up, left down and right up, but also can be inversed.
The circulation of these loops directly affects the
health of the body, especially the health of visceral
176 Liu
organs. In which, the role of the Lateral Loop is
relatively small, so the path is drawn by blue lines
in the color picture, as that of the transverse loops.
The longitudinal loops should be the meridians of
the non-vessels in the TCM. The acupoints along
the longitudinal loops have clinical effect for treat-
ing disease.
1. Orthotopic Loop
This loop surrounds the middle line of the body
trunk, so called Orthotopic Loop. It is around the
sagittal plane of the human body, also called Sagittal
Loop. In the ICYE, the front midline of body be-
longs to position of Ren-meridian, and the back
midline belongs to position of Du-meridian. How-
ever, these two meridians also have other branches.
The loop makes a detour around the urethra, vagina,
and anus in the pelvis. It is not clear how it pass
through the mouth because the detour has not been
known. The general running direction is front down
and back up, but can be inversed if over running in
one direction. This loop is equal to the Small Sky
Circle in Qigong.
2. Main Loop
A large loop runs around the inner and outer sides of
the body and limbs, and plays a major and important
role in the clinical treatment. Thus, the name of this
loop is the Main Loop. This loop locates along the
border of the red and white flesh or junction in the
trunk and limbs between Yin-part (negative part)
and Yang-part (positive part) as described in TCM.
It is also called as Yin-Yang Loop, Big Loop or
Great Loop. This loop overlaps with the PSM- path-
ways in the figure 2 and is equivalent to the Big Sky
Circle in Qigong.
The route starts from the eyes, through the
face and neck, down to the chest along the nipple
medialis. In the abdomen the route is along the lat-
eral border of the rectus muscles, and arrives to the
inguinal midpoint. The route is further descending
through the leg along the anterior middle line of the
thigh and the lateral border of the frontal keel of tib-
iae. The route turns around the foot surface between
the dorsal red flesh and the lateral white flesh with
wave-shaped semi-rings around the distal ends of the
five toes. It further ascends from the posterior-later-
al line of the legs to the hip at the lateral depression
of the greater trochanter of femur, and then goes up
to the back along the exterior border of the musculi
psoas major and the medial border of the scapula.
The route passes through the neck along the exterior
border of the latissimus dorsi. It returns to the head
top along the middle line of the half head top and
then back to the eyes. It is not clear how the route
passes through the eyes.
The forelimb route branches from the sternal
extremity of the clavicle, declines across the clavicle
to the anterior shoulder joint, descends along the an-
terior-lateral line of the arms, turns around the back
of the hand between the dorsal red flesh and the lat-
eral white flesh with wave-shaped semi-rings around
the distal ends of the five fingers just like that in the
foot, ascends along the posterior-lateral line of the
arms, then crosses the mesoscapula, and merges to
the back line.
Note that certain segment of the Main Loop
may differ in others, such as the possibility that in
the back may move outward to the posterior axil-
lary line. This loop mostly overlaps with the SSL
or HLL in the rats (6, 7). The dense distribution of
catecholamine in the macro-autoradiography in the
ends of the rat’s foot should be the wave-shaped
lines along the human’s fingers and toes (Fig. 3A),
which we have ever been neglected.
3. Lateral Loop
This loop surrounds the middle line of the left and
right sides in the head and the trunk and the inner
side and outer side of the limbs, hence the name is
the Lateral Loop. Because it locates on the coronal
plane of the human body, Lateral Loop is also called
Coronary Loop. The Lateral Loop has both physical
function and supernatural action.
Following clockwise direction, the route de-
scends from the left side of the head in the front of
the ear, down through the left neck side, and crosses
the left shoulder top. It further descends along the
lateral midline of the left arm, arrives to the middle
finger tip, takes a detour around the middle finger,
ascends through the center of the palm and along
the medial midline of the left arm, and then arrives
to the left axillary vertex. Turning through the ax-
illa, the route descends along the midline of the left
abdominal side (rib side) and the lateral midline of
the left leg, passes through the malleolus tip to the
center of the foot sole, bypasses the foot sole, and
then ascends along the medial midline of the left leg
to the perineum. After turning around the perineum,
the route symmetrically run to the right side of body
along the inside and outside of the right leg, the
right ventral side, and the inside and the outside of
the right arm. It finally goes back to the top of the
right shoulder and the top of the head. Likewise,
counter-clockwise direction can be occurred.
Five Transverse Loops
The transverse loops did not record in TCM, which
is extremely mysterious. It may associate with the
supernatural action of human beings. In the high
level of Qigong exercise and perhaps in Yoga, there
 The Pathway of Loop System along Human Skin 177
are vital-energy/substance (or vital-gas) running along
five transverse loops around the head and trunk.
Compared with the longitudinal loops, these loops
belong to transverse loops. These loops are difficult
to reflect medical values in average person. Therefore,
they are drawn in blue lines. The running direction
of these loops can be counter-clockwise or clock-
wise. When there is excessive circulating in one
direction, reverse direction can be occurred. The
circulation of these loops can condense and purify
the vital-energy/substance, and make the spirit espe-
cially in clear condition. At the same time, the in-
ternal organs are in good condition. The vital-gas in
the longitudinal loops may flow into the transverse
loops at the cross point, and then may move from the
transverse loops to the opposite longitudinal loops
or other longitudinal loops.
1. Top Loop
The Top Loop is a ring running around the top of
the head, including the parietal and frontal part. The
center is at the fontanelle. The boundary of both
sides is the temporal line. The front boundary is
behind the hairline, and the back boundary is in the
front of herringbone seam. This Top Loop should be
the same as the Top Loop of new-growing hair loop
around the rats’ head, in which a small circular hair-
line always exists at the top of the head between the
ears (6).
2. Eye Loop
The Eye Loop is a ring running around the eyes and
ears. The frontal line passes through the root of the
nose, and the back line passes over the occipital pro-
tuberance. The Top Loop and the Eye Loop may be
connected to be a wide zone.
3. Throat Loop
The Throat Loop is an oval ring running around the
throat, shoulders and neck. The frontal line passes
through the suprasternal fossa, and the back line
passes through the seventh cervical spinous process (at
Dazhui acupoint). In the shoulder, the line passes
through the medial acromion (at Jianyu acupoint).
The loop should be identical with the string dots of
labeled catecholamine around the neck. The black
dots of auto-radiography on the neck seemed to be
regular and formed a string that connected the lines
at both sides (Fig. 3A : E line) (7).
4. Central Loop
The Central Loop is a horizontal ring running around
the junction between the chest and the abdomen. Because
the location is in the middle of the trunk, the loop is
named Central Loop. The frontal line passes through
the depression below the xiphoid (at Juque acupoint),
and the back line passes through the eleventh thoracic
spinous process (at Jizhong acupoint).
5. Bottom Loop
The Bottom Loop is a transverse ring running around
the genital and anus. The frontal line passes through the
pubic symphysis, and the back line passes through the
caudal end (above the Changqiang acupoint).
Clinical Application
1. Acupoint Location
For clinical practitioners engaged in acupuncture and
massage, these longitudinal loops can be the guidance
for choosing acupoint and steering direction. The Main
Loop is the first choice, the Orthotopic Loop is the
second choice, and the Lateral Loop is the third choice.
Determining the basis of acupoints is in the depression
along these loops, which are easy to insert and to
operate the acupuncture needle. Note that the loops
themselves are banded rather than linear, as long as
the stimulus is situated in the belt. The thickness of
the loop is uneven. In the trunk and proximal limbs,
the loop is relatively wide and the acupoint is not
easy to deviate. However, in the distal limbs, the
loop is fairly thin and the acupoint needs to be pre-
cisely positioning.
2. Acupuncture Methods
Because the pathway of vital-gas circulates along
the skin, we always emphasize that the needle must
be firmly stuck to the skin for twirling, lifting and
thrusting. Do not stick the needle with deep muscle
and fascia, and avoid to look for the needling sensa-
tion in the deep fascia and periosteum.
There are two criteria for the good response to
acupuncture. One is the area of acupoint becoming
white at the beginning and then becoming a circle of
blush that last long enough (for example, more than
1 h). Another is the phenomenon of goose bumps and
erect hairs along a line or zone. All these are the local
sympathetic reaction to acupuncture and the pilomotor
reaction of transmission of acupuncture signals. A few
of people may appear propagated sensation along
meridians, including a numb zone and some visceral
physiological and pathological reactions.
Discussion and Conclusion
When many scientists are arguing whether the CTM
is scientific or not and whether the meridians exist
or not, we have discovered a set of new and special
anatomical structure hidden along body skin, which
is a set of linear loop system consisted of a complex
of sympathetic- arrector pili muscles. Such system
can be displayed as re-growing hair lines or pilo-
 178 Liu
motor lines. We have differentiated two types of
meridians: meridians of blood vessels for transport-
ing blood and meridians of non-blood vessels for
transmitting Vital-gas. The discovered loop system
is just the meridians of non-blood vessels for propa-
gating Vital-gas or transmitting acupuncture signals.
The mixed meridians in the drawing and models are
crossing lines and dense nets. Here, when we only
drew the meridians of non-blood vessels or the skin
signal pathways as the Three Longitudinal Loops,
it is so simple, clear and regular. Also it is more
simple and useful for research and treatment.
The most curious thing hitting our heart is
that both types of meridians are innervated by rich
sympathetic never fibers and linear structures. So
our ancestors put the two types together with a same
name-Meridian.
The more mysterious Five Transverse Loops
hint us: the life may be far more complex and mys-
tery than we imaged. It is so enigmatical that we
cannot discuss it by scientific term nere.
Conflict of Interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
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