Acupuncture and the retrospect of its modern research

Acupuncture is one of the oldest medical practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This method of treatment was discovered when primitive Chinese people discovered that pain in one part of the body can be alleviated if it stings in a particular area of the body. Acupuncture has achieved to a climax in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), when many famous doctors specialized in this field emerged with a lot of exclusive books on acupuncture, but the most important one was Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion by Yang Jizhou, which represented a new milestone in the history of acupuncture's evolution. Yang Jizhou compiled a book that presents a complete and laborious description of the meridians, collaterals, acupuncture points, manipulating methods of acupuncture and their indications. According to the ancient description of the meridians and collaterals and the research on the anatomy of Western medicine, some scholars think the meridians and collaterals are closely related to the blood vessels. In recent years, many reports have showed that acupuncture has remarkable effect on the pituitary gland and adrenal cortex system, the sympathetic nerve and adrenal medulla system, the pituitary gland and thyroid gland system, the sexual glands, and the posterior pituitary system. Thus, some researchers put forth the theory of the meridians and collaterals associated with regulatory function of the neurohumoral system, and the action of acupuncture and moxibustion is brought about by the way of the nerves and body fluid.