Properties of Acupoints
There are a total of 361 acupoints along the fourteen main meridians (twelve regular meridians, plus Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel) over the body surface; each point belongs to a particular meridian and corresponds to an internal organ. These body points can be selected to treat a variety of conditions. Physicians are not simply add them in a cumulative fashion but combine according to particular principles. When choosing appropriate treatment points, physicians always consider the points from the meridian to which the affected organ or region is related. Understanding some therapeutic properties of acupoints help to be more flexible in clinical applications, which is essential for acupuncture prescription.
According to TCM theory, a selected acupoint that is stimulated by acupuncture techniques can achieve its therapeutic effects in following ways:
- Local effects: This is a common feature for all the acupoints, that an acupoint has effects on the local region, or the involved nearby tissues and organs. For example, feng chi (Gb 20, the depressions below the occipital bone) is indicated for head and eye problems; zhong wan (Cv 12, center of upper abdomen) is indicated for the stomach and duodenal problems; he gu (Li 4, palm web between the thumb and index finger) is indicated for elbow problems. It is claimed that the acupoints are selected based on the diseased location only; their effects are not specific to conditions on the region. Physicians will first identify the exact pathological location, and then select the right points based on the result.
- Remote effects: Acupoints especially those located in the distal part of the limbs can exert their effects on far away regions, such as the head, trunk and internal organs, depend on their corresponding meridians. The acupoints can create particular phenomena, for example, zu san li (St 36) can induce general reinforcement while ren zhong (Gv 26) and hui yin (Cv 1) can induce respiratory excitement. However, these remote effects are not specific, because an acupoint can act on multiple systems, e.g. zu san li (St 36) has its effect on digestion, respiration, circulation and immune defense systems; several acupoints such as zu san li (St 36), qu chi (Li 11), he gu (Li 4), nei guan (Pc 6) and tai chong (Lr 3) can all lower blood pressure. Sometimes combining acupoints together can create mutual enhancement or inhibition results, for example, nei guan (Pc 6) regulates the heartbeat, but when combined with jiao xin (Ki 8), the effect is diminished. Generally, acupoints on the head and trunk are less likely to have these remote effects.
- Dual regulatory effects: The body's functional state has a great influence on the effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment. Even stimulating the same acupoint, there may be entirely different results due to different conditions. For example, when the heartbeat is fast, puncturing the nei guan (Pc 6) can make it slower, on the other hand, a slow heartbeat can be made faster by puncturing on nei guan (Pc6). The acupoint he gu (Li 4) can be used to induce sweating in feverish conditions, but when the patient already has profuse sweating, it can then be used to arrest sweating. The acupoint tian shu (St 25) is indicated for both diarrhea and constipation.
