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In the 1960s, Professor Kim Bong Han
Ph.D., and a team of researchers in Korea attempted to document the
existence of meridians in the human body using microdissection
techniques. They found evidence that there exists an independent
series of fine duct-like tubes corresponding to the paths of
traditional acupuncture meridians. Fluids in this system sometimes
travel in the same direction as the blood and lymph, but at other
times may flow in the opposite direction. They realized that these
ducts were different from the vascular and lymphatic systems that
Western science had previously identified, and that the meridians
themselves might exist within them.[i]
The existence of the meridian system
was further established by French researcher Dr. Pierre deVernejoul,
M.D., Ph.D. at Paris University, who injected radioactive isotopes
into the acupoints of humans and tracked their movement with a
special gamma imaging camera. The isotopes traveled 12 inches along
acupuncture meridians within four to six minutes. Dr. de Vernejoul
then challenged his work by injecting isotopes into blood vessels at
random areas of the body rather than into acupoints. The isotopes
did not travel in the same manner at all, further indicating that
the meridians do indeed comprise a system of separate pathways
within the body.[ii]
In 1997, acupuncture's credibility as
a viable medic treatment was bolstered by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), which reclassified the acupuncture needle
from "experimental" to "medical device" status, thereby
acknowledging that the acupuncture needle is a safe and effective
medical instrument. Also in 1997, the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) released an efficacy statement endorsing acupuncture for a
variety of conditions, including post-operative pain, dental pain
following surgery, nausea associated with chemotherapy, morning
sickness, tennis elbow, and carpal tunnel syndrome. The FDA
estimates that Americans make 9 to 12 million visits per year to
acupuncturists annually.[iii]
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[Electro properties of acupuncture]
[i] R. Gerber, M.D.,
Vibrational Medicine (Santa Fe, NM: Bear & Company,
1988)
[ii] P. De Verbejoul
et al. “Study of Acupuncture Meridians Using Radioactive
Tracers.” Bulletin de L’Academie Nationale de Medicine
(October 22, 1985), 1071-1075.
[iii] C.D. Lytle.
An Overview of Acupuncture (Washington, DC: United
States Department of Health and Human Services, Health
Sciences Branch, Division of Life Sciences, Office of
Science and Technology. Center for Devices and Radiological
Health, Food and Drug Administration, 1993).
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