The Stomach
that is
the "Centre"

© 2008-2017 Stefano Marcelli

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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.

The Stomach meridian and its corresponding internal organ play a fundamental role in the traditional Chinese medical physiology. All organs "turn" around the stomach that is the "Centre". Observing the image below, the only shape that the stomach meridian pathway (orange) over the face recalls is the primitive midgut (on the right), when before rotating from the sagittal to coronal plane, forms a loop that herniates physiologically into the umbilical chord. We have already seen this special morphogenetic behaviour in the section of the Small Intestine meridian. What is here of special interest is that, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, every organ-meridian of the lower limb is coupled with the yang-yin equivalent organ-meridian of the upper limb, and vice versa (see minimal knowledge on the acupuncture meridian system). The coupled meridian of the stomach is that of the Large Intestine. Following after each other —Large Intestine meridian continues as Stomach meridian— they form the Great Meridian of Tai Yang, running in a continual way along the upper and lower limb.

As illustrated in the first strip of figures below, when we rotate left the head model with the meridians drawn over, moving it from the lateral to the frontal aspect, we see how the Stomach meridian (orange) is progressively climbed over by the Large Intestine meridian (black), the two branches of which cross each other at the philtrum. This process is very similar to that of the cecum bud c) in the embryos development, which guiding the 270° counter-clockwise midgut rotation, crosses and overcomes d) that part of the primitive gut that later will become jejunum and ileum. The cecum eventually directs downward e) until to arrive at its anatomical definitive position in the right iliac fossa f).

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