SKIN REGION ALONG MERIDIANS

Luo Qingdao1, Zhu Fengming1, Lei Shihui1, Zhu Zhigang3, Wang Lifeng3, Xing Zhenmei3, Huang Guying'*

This study was carried on depending on the Canon of Internal Medicine and our clinical practice.

In normal physiological state, heat may induce incompact of skin, opening of the sweat glands, sweating and regulating temperature of the body. Cold may induce intensiveness of the skin, closure of the sweat glands, reinforcement of Weiyang and standing up against exogenous evils,

In pathological conditions, the function of the skin may be out of balance, interior heat could not be excluded, therefore wind-cold and exogenous evils would easily invade the body. Thus it shows that the function of skin region may affect health condition of the body. We hold the idea that researches of the skin regions would be important in clinical practice, in the development of the theory of the skin regions,, and in the investigation of the regularities of clinical diagnosis according to the pathological phenomena of the skin regions.

According to the Canon of Internal Medicine, it denotes that variations of the color, sensation and condition of skin regions may reflect the location, cause, nature and prognosis of diseases.

For example, according to the Canon of Internal Medicine "blue color may be related to pain, black color may be related to numbness, yellow and red colors may be related to heat, white color may be related to cold. The appearance of five colours at the same time may be related to cold and heat.'' Therefore pain, numbness, cold and heat may be diagnosed by changes of colours of the skin regions.

Another quotation of it, "hot feelings of the face may be related to disease of Foot-Yangming, meridian" "hot and pain of the foot may be related to disease of the kidney of Foot-Shaoyin meridian". Therefore diseases of viscera and meridian may be diagnosed by changes of skin regions.

Furthermore "Redness on both cheeks as big as a thumb may result in sudden death even if the symptom seems to be not serious", and that "Blackness as big as a thumb on the middle of the forehead may result in sudden death without symptoms". Therefore colours of the face may reflect the presence of serious diseases, and observations of changes of the skin regions possess important clinical significances.

In recent years we have cured various diseases with shallow acupuncture along meridians of the skin regions together with cupping by using the theory of the skin regions (head ache, stiff neck due to improper posture in sleeping, periarthritis of shoulder joint, inflammation of elbow and knee joint, acute contusion, lumbar muscle strains, ischias, acute pharyngitis, acute laryngitis, acute tonsillitis, acute and chronic tracheitis, gastritis, cholecystitis etc.) All of these have shown good effect. According to sur clinical experience it shows that stimulation of the skin regions may yield distinct analgesic and antiphlogistic effect.

7. Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Anhui College of TCM

2. Teaching Research Group, Anhui College of TCM

3. Second Clinic, Hospital of Anhui College of TCM

4. Wanxi Hospital, Anhui Office of National Defence Industry