Concept of Acupoint and Meridian

Acupoint


There are 365 main acupuncture points spaced all over the body. These are the main points that an acupuncturist will use in daily treatment. There are also over 500 local, non meridian and master points that are not as commonly used.
Each of the points has an ancient name that is very important part of Five Element Acupuncture. Some of these pertain to the points location, a lot of them are to do with the Spirit of the Point. The Spirit of the Point is about the particular healing energy available from that point.

Meridian or Channels

Qi flows through the body along 14 pathways known as "meridians" and, although these usually closely follow the nervous system they are said not to be nerves. There are 12 meridians each duplicated on either side of the body and two others which run in the dorsal (top) and ventral (underneath) mid lines. Linked to the concept of Qi is the concept of the "Yin-Yang" balance. Yin is negative and Yang is positive and these two qualities are intermixed and interdependent for normal function. Acute disease is an excess of either Yin or Yang whereas Chronic disease is a deficiency of either Yin or Yang. Acupuncture aims to help maintain the balance.

In Chinese Medicine the concept of internal organs is different to that of western medicine:- there are 12 major organs in the body which have their own meridian and to which they give their name.

Each of these organs are classified as predominantly Yin or Yang:

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