Proof that Acupuncture Meridians Exist
What is not taught in medical school is that the Meridian systems used in acupuncture and acupressure are, in fact, anatomical structures.
When cadavers are dissected and tissues are examined for histological study, what is found is that the tissues of the body at acupuncture sites and along meridians have abundant collagen fibrils surrounded by electrolytes. This is an important finding because it shows that these pathways conduct infrared light. Infrared light or infrared heat is made by the mitochondria as a means of communication in the body.
So this is another reinforcement by western science that Acupuncture is REAL. And it proves that Acupuncture is quantum medicine for the “light body”. This is important because it sheds light on how our non-physical body works! Light is the primary control mechanism that takes place for every physiologic process in the body.
This explains why a Western trained practitioner like a PT or Chiropractor using an acupuncture point to release a muscle will never understand the body in the way an acupuncturist understands the body.
Chinese medicine understands these “light pathways” and our training includes several interrelated channel and network systems beyond just the “main meridians.” Acupuncturists often work with multiple overlapping frameworks, each describing different physiological, energetic, and pathological relationships in the body.
Here’s a few of the major channel systems and related frameworks used in acupuncture and classical Chinese medicine:
Overview of Acupuncture Meridians
1. The Primary Channels
These are the 12 main meridians most people learn first: Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Sanjiao, Gallbladder, Liver.
The Primary Channels connect Zang-Fu organs and form the backbone of acupuncture practice. (Understanding Zang Fu organs are another concept or precept for understanding the relationship of organs expressed within the framework of understanding Yin and Yang.)
2. The Extraordinary Vessels
These are eight, deep, regulatory channels that store, regulate, and integrate Qi and Blood from the primary channels:
• Du Mai (Governing Vessel)
• Ren Mai (Conception Vessel)
• Chong Mai (Penetrating Vessel)
• Dai Mai (Belt Vessel)
• Yin Qiao, Yang Qiao (Yin/Yang Motility Vessels)
• Yin Wei, Yang Wei (Yin/Yang Linking Vessels)
The Extraordinary Vessels are used to balance constitutional patterns and deep energetic disharmonies.
3. The Luo-Connecting Channels
There are 15 Luo-Connecting Channels in total (one for each primary channel + Du, Ren, and the Great Luo of the Spleen)
The Luo-Connecting Channels form collateral networks that connect paired channels (interior-exterior relationships) and the body’s surface regions.
The Luo-Connecting Channels are often used to treat emotional issues, superficial disorders, or channel stagnation.
4. The Divergent Channels
The Divergent Channels are 12 pathways that branch off the primary channels.
The Divergent Channels reach deeper structures like the Zang-Fu organs and head.
Understanding the Divergent Channels offers and explanation of how internal organ pathology can manifest in areas distant from the main meridian and are used for chronic, constitutional, or latent diseases.
When a person is burdened with a disease that the body cannot heal from, these channels are used with the intention of creating latency and slowing-down the disease progression.
5. The Sinew Channels
The Sinew Channels are 12 channels that follow muscle, tendon, and fascia pathways.
The Sinew Channels correspond to the primary channels but are more superficial and structural.
The Sinew Channels are commonly used for musculoskeletal pain, postural imbalance, or sports injuries.
6. The Cutaneous Regions
The Cutaneous Regions are the most superficial layer of the meridian system.
The Cutaneous Regions indicate the zones of influence of each primary channel on the skin and are important for early or external stage diseases (e.g., Wind invasion).
7. The Collateral Networks and Minute Collaterals
The Collateral Networks and Minute Collaterals are fine branches of the Luo system that permeate every tissue.
The Collateral Networks and Minute Collaterals represent the microcirculatory and energetic web connecting every part of the body — similar to capillaries in Western anatomy but energetic in nature.
8. The Sanjiao / Triple Burner Network
The Sanjiao / Triple Burner Network is sometimes treated as its own functional system or “passageway” for Qi and fluids.
The Sanjiao / Triple Burner Network is divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Burners, it governs the movement and transformation of water and Qi throughout the body.
9. Other Frameworks Sometimes Integrated
Acupuncturists may also use:
Wei, Ying, and Yuan Levels (defensive, nutritive, constitutional layers of Qi)
Six Channel systems (Taiyang, Yangming, Shaoyang, Taiyin, Shaoyin, Jueyin) from the Shang Han Lun for disease progression.
Five Phase correspondences to explain organ and channel dynamics.
Eight Principles — interior/exterior, hot/cold, excess/deficiency, yin/yang — as diagnostic structure.