Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies
Volume 12, Issue 1, February 2019, Pages 37-41
A New Definition of an Acupuncture Meridian
Fletcher Kovich
Curepoint Acupuncture in Bristol, Bristol, UK
Abstract
This article provides a new definition of an acupuncture meridian. It suggests that a meridian consists of a distal tract of tissue that is affected by organ function. In the 1960s, Kim discovered the primo vascular system and regarded the superficial primo vessels as equating to the meridians. Instead, this article suggests that the superficial primo vessels merely underlie the meridians, in that they enable their creation, which is why some meridians are said to occur along the paths of superficial primo vessels. But the meridians themselves do not have a dedicated anatomical structure; instead they are merely tracts of tissue whose normal function is impeded when the related abdominal organ is stressed. It is hypothesized that the organ information is communicated in electrical waves that may travel through the connective tissue sheaths of the superficial primo vessels. Hence, the primo vessels serve as an inadvertent transport for this information, but the organ information is independent of the physiological purpose of the primo vascular system, as are the resultant meridians.
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2005290118300037Excerpts:
"When food was cooked in a cooking pot, steam rose from the food and seemed to contain some essence of the food, such as the scent of the ingredients. And it was speculated that similar processes may take place in the body....This vapor was known as 'influence' (chi), and it was imagined that this vapor could 'steam' between the organs (such as between the stomach and lungs) and was then circulated in the body through networks of vessels, taking the nutrition to every location."
"But in the 1960s, Bong-Han Kim began publishing his research into the acupuncture system. He described (what we now call) the primo vascular system (PVS), which he believed to be the anatomical structures that correspond to the meridians and acupuncture points. He reported that the system's purpose was to enable the maturing of cells for organs and other tissue. A dying cell would produce many embryonic-like cells (now called p-microcells), which travel through primo vessels. These begin within the cell nucleus itself, then leave the organ or tissue, travel through the skin, with the cells pausing at primo nodes to allow them to mature, then the matured cells complete the return journey back into the organ. It is believed that these cells travel to the skin because this closer proximity to light is beneficial for their maturing [5], [6]. The superficial primo vessels (traveling through the skin) were said to correspond to the meridians, and the primo nodes on these vessels correspond to acupoints.
"Since then, many of Kim's findings have been independently verified."
"It has so far been assumed that superficial primo vessels correspond to the acupuncture meridians, and researchers have tested this."
"Kovich's article 'A curious oversight in acupuncture research [18]' demonstrates that acupuncture's effect on the organs could neither be mediated by either the nervous system or any blood-borne factor such as hormones nor be mediated by the PVS. This is primarily because the speed of acupuncture's effect on organ function is far too fast for it to be communicated via these systems. Does this mean that the PVS does not correspond to the meridian system?"
"The Nei Jing conception of a meridian consists of a hollow vessel through with vapors and blood flow..."
"This suggests that, by the Nei Jing definition of a meridian, primo vessels are not meridians. But perhaps the Nei Jing's theoretical notion of what a meridian is was misguided."
"Today, experienced acupuncture practitioners can usually sense the presence and pathways of the meridians on the skin (largely by touch but also visually), so that it is safe to assume that the Nei Jing authors could also do this. This suggests that the meridians were initially discovered through practical observation, rather than being theoretically deduced."
"5. A new hypothesis on how acupuncture works
"The hypothesis proposed by Kovich in 2016 [19] states that the organs communicate their malfunctions (and also states related to their normal function) to acupoints via an electrical wave, which can be affected at an acupoint so as to immediately rectify the related organ's malfunction.
"The hypothesis suggests that body tissue interprets the organ information that is contained in the electrical waves that are omnipresent in the body. Usually such electrical waves would contain the combined information from all the organs, but since each superficial primo vessel extends from a particular organ, the electrical wave in its connective tissue sheath only contains the information from that single organ, and it is this accident that is said to produce the phenomenon of acupuncture. Because this concentrated information from a single organ is present at every location along a particular meridian, when the organ is stressed, this may enable that information to also similarly stress the distal tissue to the extent that tenderness results at key locations. The exact location is said to be determined by the relationship between the particular organ malfunction and the geometry of the limb along which the meridian flows. This (tender, or otherwise affected) location then constitutes an acupoint. And by stimulating the tender location (the acupoint), this inevitably affects the local tissue, which changed state, it is assumed, is then immediately propagated back to the related organ, which is able to somehow encourage the organ to cancel out the stress in itself that caused the distal location to become tender."
"If the above hypothesis is correct, then a meridian does not have a dedicated anatomical structure, but rather is a tract of distal tissue that is affected by organ function. The information from the organs is inadvertently carried on an electrical wave which may propagate along the connective tissue sheaths of the superficial primo vessels, and this enables that information to affect the function of the tissue local to the primo vessels. Hence, the PVS enables the creation of the meridians, but the meridians then consist of this separate, affected tissue. Therefore the meridians are separate from the superficial primo vessels, and it is this affected tissue (the meridians and acupoints), rather than the primo vessels or nodes, which are stimulated to achieve acupuncture's effects on the organs."
"Note that in this new definition of a meridian, the term 'tract of tissue' is used, rather than 'path' or 'channel', since this avoids the implication that something flows along a meridian.
"In his 2008 review, Ahn [20] found that the phenomenon of reduced impedance at acupoints and meridians was unreliable and that even though such phenomena could sometimes be detected in some patients at certain times, it did not appear to be a permanent, reliable feature."
"The following are exmples of common phenomena related to meridians..."
"It is generally no longer imagined that the Nei Jing theories are correct, and it is accepted that neither vapors nor blood flow through the meridians. Instead, in recent decades, there is the trend to imagine that some type of energy flows along meridians instead."
"When an acupoint is first stimulated, the patient usually feels a sensation at the acupoint. It could be a mild tingling, an ache, or a stinging or burning pain. The intensity of the sensation varies between patients and seems to be proportional to the degree of stress in the related organ."
"Sometimes, a section of the meridian related to a stressed organ may feel cold to the touch, or a key acupoint may feel distinctly cold in relation to the surrounding skin. And when the organ is treated with acupuncture, even where acupoints not on this cold section are used, the coldness tends to immediately clear."
"Another phenomena related to the above is this. Sometimes, when an acupoint is stimulated, the patient feels warmth spreading along the path of the meridian."
"Other anomalies that occur along the path of the meridian related to a stressed organ are dry or rough skin, redness around key acupoints, boils, or pain and weakness in nearby joints...Such red patches or pain at key acupoints tend to clear within seconds of the organ being treated, even when the acupoint where the redness or pain is centered is not stimulated—which supports the notion that the impeding information could only be communicated via an electrical wave because no other known method could account for such speedy communication between an organ and these distal locations."
"When a particular stress (or malfunction) has been present for some time in an organ and the organ is prompted by acupuncture to 'shed' that malfunction, this is probably a gradual process that may take a few seconds to complete."
"Hence, all the common phenomena related to an acupuncture treatment may be accounted for by this hypothesis, without the need for any substance to flow within the meridians or for the meridians to have a dedicated anatomical structure."
