The history and sociology of the scientific study of acupuncture

Although known to the medical community in some form since the 19th century, acupuncture is only recently receiving concerted research attention from the conventional medical and scientific community. The overall amount of scientific acupuncture research has doubled since the mid 1960's. Employing the approaches of the science, history, sociology and social relations of science, this article explores factors which explain why the present time is conducive to acupuncture research by the scientific and medical community. Perhaps this study of scientific acupuncture research will provide the basis for a later theory of scientific development.