[Our considerations about non-acupoint selection for experimental studies in rats]

Researches on the specificity of acupoints need a contrast of non-acupoint. However, there have been no uniform standards for locating the non-acupoint in both human body and animals. In the present paper, the authors make a review about the methods for locating the non-acupoint in rats during acupuncture experiments in recent decade. Till now, four methods were frequently used, i.e., 1) selecting a spot beside the known acupoint at the same level, 2) selecting the mid point between two meridian running courses, 3) choosing a spot at the tail, and 4) choosing a spot below the costal region. The authors hold that of the 4 methods, the last one, i.e., taking the spot below the costal region as the non-acupoint is probably the most reasonable approach, if it is far from the observed acupoint, and on the same or the adjacent spinal nerve segment.