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:: brown text means unrevised translation or incomplete work ::
NB: the author uses the words "channel", "meridian" and "vessel" as synonyms to define the system of lines, tubes or slices transporting the undemonstrated energy called Qi (pronounce "tchi") to all parts of the body. Anyway he considers "meridian" more suitable for scientific speech and literature, also because it is already employed in other fields of knowledge as in geography and morphogenesis.
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| The Acupuncture
Meridian System is made of meridians (called also channels or vessels), situated inside the body
and on its surface. "It is written and said" that they connect distant and different parts of the body each other, for example the temporal region on the head
to the external aspect of
the foot and the gallbladder organ, the lung to the tip of the thumb
and the stomach to second toe.
Within the meridians both Qi and blood would flow in different proportions.
Everyone know what is the blood, the Qi has been neither seen nor identified. In occidental languages there are no
adequate translation for what
qi is according to Chinese Traditional Medicine, but "vital energy" or "vital force", which
are undefined expressions for non-measurable entities. Qi is also
known as ki (Japanese) or chi in some martial arts.
The Acupuncture Meridian System is composed of:
- 12 PRINCIPAL (also called MAIN or REGULAR) meridians, any of which is
connected with the homonym internal organ and has its own points. The 12 principal
meridians and connected organs are distinguished in 6 yin
(3 on the medial surface of the superior limb, and 3 on that of the
inferior limb). Yin and
yang are the two complementary
terms of the famous theory of opposites (see
here to get a sense of it). At least in regard to the anatomical organs,
"yin" can be perfectly translated with
full (liver, kidney, spleen...) and
"yang" with empty (gall bladder, bladder, stomach...). Note that
traditional Chinese
Medicine has two different words for full organ (zang) and empty organ
(fu), that occidental medical terminology does not possess. Any FULL
principal organ-meridian is coupled with a EMPTY principal
organ-meridian. In certain cases (for example liver-gall bladder and
kidney-bladder) the coupling makes sense according to modern physiology, in
other cases (stomach-spleen) it does not. In our opinion, this is because the coupling have been
transported from the traditional medicine to modern medicine in a wrong manner. In this
specific situation, what that ancient Chinese intended for spleen is
partially identifiable with the endocrine pancreas.
According to Chinese traditional physiology, and differently from the
blood, which thanks to the hearth's pump is pushed contemporary toward
all organs and directions, the qi covers the paths of the principal
meridians one after the other, with a period of two fixed hours of
maximum peak for each meridian, and two
hours of minimum peak after 12 hours. As the principal meridians are 12,
the cycle is completed in 24 hours. In the progression of Qi circulation, couples of full meridians (yin) alternate with couples of
empty meridians (yang), as indicated in the table below:
|
|
maximum
flow pick |
corresponding
organ
|
corresponding
finger-toe |
where
starts |
where
ends |
|
day 1 |
03-05 |
LUNG |
thumb |
thorax |
hand |
| ↓ |
05-07 |
LARGE INTESTINE |
fore finger |
hand |
face |
| ↓ |
07-09 |
STOMACH |
second toe |
face |
face
foot |
| ↓ |
09-11 |
SPLEEN |
little toe |
foot |
<thorax
thorax |
| ↓ |
11-13 |
HEART |
little finger |
thorax |
hand |
| ↓ |
13-15 |
SMALL INTESTINE |
little finger |
hand |
face |
| ↓ |
15-17 |
BLADDER |
little toe |
face |
foot |
| ↓ |
17-19 |
KIDNEY |
little toe |
foot |
thorax |
| ↓ |
19-21 |
PERICARDIUM |
middle finger |
thorax |
hand |
| ↓ |
21-23 |
SANJIAO |
ring finger |
hand |
face |
| ↓ |
23-01 |
GALL BLADDER |
fourth toe |
face |
foot |
| ↓ |
01-03 |
LIVER |
big toe |
foot |
thorax |
|
day 2 |
03-05 |
LUNG |
thumb |
thorax |
hand |
| ↓ |
05-07 |
LARGE INTESTINE |
fore finger |
hand |
face |
| ... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
- 8 EXTRAORDINARY meridians, without connection
with specific organs. Two of them (Governor Vessel Du Mai, and
Conception Vessel Ren Mai) have their own points. In the 8 Extraordinary
Meridians it is said that Qi is not subject to tidal flow.
- 12 secondary meridians or collaterals that connect each other coupled meridians
of different nature yin and yang.
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