ABC of complementary medicine: Acupuncture

BMJ 1999;319:973-976 ( 9 October )

Clinical review

ABC of complementary medicine

Acupuncture

Andrew Vickers, Catherine Zollman.

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Acupuncture is the stimulation of special points on the body, usually by the insertion of fine needles. Originating in theFar East about 2000 years ago, it has made various appearancesin the history of European and north American medicine. WilliamOsler, for example, used acupuncture therapeutically in the 19thcentury. Acupuncture's recent popularity in the West dates fromthe 1970s, when President Nixon visited China.

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Background

In its original form acupuncture was based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. According to these, the workingsof the human body are controlled by a vital force or energy called"Qi" (pronounced "chee"), which circulates between the organsalong channels calledmeridians.

There are 12 main meridians, and these correspond to 12 major functions or "organs" of the body. Although they have the samenames (such as liver, kidney, heart, etc), Chinese and Westernconcepts of the organs correlate only very loosely. Qi energymust . . . [Full text of this article]

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