[Progress in researches on the specificity of acupoints]

In the present paper, the authors introduce the development of researches on the specificity of acupoints in morphological structure (nerves, blood vessels, musculotendons, connective tissues, etc), biophysical characteristics (electricity, sonics, photology, thermology, electromagnetism), pathological response, and effectiveness. However, the aforementioned researches are basically at the stage of phenomenon-observation, some key factors influencing acupoint specificity and the underlying mechanisms have no definite or lack convincing results. Further studies should aim at those acupoints for some effective diseases (or symptoms) of acupuncture by using multiple modern scientific techniques. Some key scientific issues about the biophysical characteristics, pathological responses, efficacy, and combination regularity of acupoints should be solved reasonably. Moreover, theoretical models about acupoint specificity should be established for developing the theory of acupoint learning.