Meridian and Collateral
☯ Meridian and collateral are paths of Qi and blood of human bodies. The viscera and bowels are closely related to the meridian and collateral. It is a hierachial, multifunctional, multi-morphological controlling system. Meridians are main paths while collaterals are branches. They connect the organs of the whole human body together.
☯ Acupoints can be classified into three kinds: Meridian acupoints, Odd acupoints and Ashi acupoints, which are the local points of pain
Principles of Selecting Acupoints
(1) Local selection of acupoints refers to selecting the acupoints in the remedial parts of the body, such as selecting Zhongwan in the case of stomachache, selecting Tianshu in the case of the bellyache.
(2) Adjacent selection of acupoints refers to selecting acupoints near the infected parts of the human body, such as selecting Shangxin and Fengchi in the case of eye illness, selecting Zhangmen in the case of the stomachache.
(3) Selecting acupoints along the meridians, such as selecting Weizhong of the foot meridian in the case of back pains.
(4) Selecting acupoints according to the special relationship between collateral channels and blood vessel. For example, the liver is closely related to the eye, therefore the patients of eye diseases can select the Taichong on the liver meridian. The kidney is closely related to the ear, the patients with ear diseases can select the Taixi on the kidney meridian.
(5) Selecting acupoints according to personal experiences. For example, personal experience tells us that selecting Lieque and Hegu is very useful in case of diseases in the face, neck and head. Selecting Weizhong is very useful in case of waist disease, selecting Zusanli is very effective for such diseases as abdominal pain, indigestion, stomachache, vomiting, abdominal distension, diarrhea constipation, etc., while vomiting, palpitation, chest aches, discomfort in the chest are closely related to Neiguan.