[Essential characteristics and clinical treatment regularity of acupuncture therapy]

As an external therapy, acupuncture has its own essential characteristics and clinical treatment regularity. The nature, the unique view and feasible factor of acupuncture are different totally from those of the internal therapy with Chinese herbal medicine. The thought of the internal therapy does not benefit the essential characteristics of acupuncture clinical practice, named the external therapy is used for either the external disorders or the internal disorders. In macroscopic view, the human body disorder is divided into yang disorder (body surface disorder, somatopathy) and yin disorder (internal disorder, splanchnopathy), which contributes to the general rule of the diagnosis and treatment. The classical meridian system is practical, highly-effective and specific in the treatment guidance for somatopathy in light of the rule as using the external therapy for the external disorder. This system is also important in the treatment for the internal disorder. But, a further study is required to remove the flaws.