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Laser acupuncture anaesthesia and therapy in People's Republic of China
Qin JN
Ann Acad Med Singapore 1987 Apr;16(2):261-3
Biomedical Engineering Faculty of Shanghai, Second Medical University,
People's Republic of China.
Laser acupuncture anaesthesia has been utilized for operations on thyroid
and stomach, and Caesarean sections since 1978 in China. Recently,
satisfactory results were reported in stomatology for the extraction of
teeth. Laser beams directed at predetermined acupoints produce insensibility
in a few minutes without any side effects such as allergy, intoxication,
haemorrhage, or infection. This method has been used successfully on more
than 5,000 patients for tooth extractions and minor oral and facial
operations. Until now, the mechanism of classical acupuncture anaesthesia
has been more or less elucidated by the neural or neuro-humoral hypothesis,
which states that deep receptors or minute nerve fibres are stimulated
mechanically by the needle. But laser irradiation as a stimulant is
something different, since it has only low power and short penetration
depth, and arouses almost no sensation compared with the acupuncture needle.
The mechanism of anaesthesia due to laser irradiation of acupoints on
superficial parts of the body should be investigated in further detail. The
methods of laser acupuncture anaesthesia, the selection of laser irradiation
acupuncture points, the distance and duration of irradiation, and the
results of clinical application will be introduced.
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