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Hom e > Bas ic Principle s > The M e ridian Sys te m > What is M e ridian
Sys te m ?

What is the M e ridian Syste m?

Chinese medicine believes there is a distribution netw ork f or the

f undamental substances of Qi (pronounced chee), Blood and
Body Fluids throughout the body. (These f undamental
substances are diff erent f rom the common w estern
understandings of these terms, and their concepts are important
f or maintaining health using Chinese medicine.) This distribution
netw ork called the M e ridian Sys te m looks like a giant w eb,
linking diff erent areas of our body together. Its pathw ays make
up a comprehensive yet complex body map that supplies vital
energy to every part of the body. Philosophically, the Meridian System explains
how w e live, and w hy w e become sick.

The Chinese meaning of the word Meridian

"Jing luo", the Chinese term f or meridian has tw o interesting concepts w hich make
up the basic structural components of the Meridian System. These concepts date
back several thousand years and are ref lected in the ancient Chinese medical text,
Hua ng Di Nei Ji ng (The Yel l ow Emperor's Cl a ssi c of Interna l M edi ci ne),
w hich says: Jing meridians act as the interior. Those w hich branch off
horizontally are luo meridians. Jing means to pass through or pathw ay and ref ers
to the vertical channels. Luo means netw ork and ref ers to the netw orks that
branch off f rom the vertical channels (Jing). Both Jing and Luo mean link or
connection, and they are bound closely together to f orm channels.

Meridians are not blood vessels

Although meridians w ork as a channel system w hich carries and distributes qi and
blood, they are not blood vessels and have no anatomical channel structure. Many
meridian research projects have been carried out over the years testing diff erent
hypotheses of how this system w orks. Physiological hypotheses such as
nervous ref lex models have been put f orw ard, but researchers have not yet come
up w ith a def initive model that can give a complete anatomical description of the
Meridian System.

Development of the Meridian Theory

According to the ancient literature of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is

hypothesized the meridian theory developed in the f ollow ing w ays:

1. Observation of a "needle" feeling projected elsewhere in the body

When certain specif ic points on the skin w ere pierced by f ine
needles, f eelings like soreness, numbness, heaviness and
sw elling w ould occur-a reaction know n as the "needle" f eeling. It
w as f ound these "needle' f eelings w ere alw ays f elt on a
particular skin area, f ollow ing a certain direction and pathw ay.
Ancient Chinese medicine philosophers w orked out the patterns
of the needle points (acupuncture points) in the body, w hich later
f ormed the basis of the meridian theory.

2. Observation of the effects of acupuncture points

In ancient times, Chinese people w ould experiment and stimulate diff erent
acupuncture points to get symptomatic relief f rom a particular ailment. As they
practiced these acupuncture trials, they f ound points w ith similar eff ects w ere

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What is Meridian System? http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/whatmeridian.html

alw ays distributed in an organized pattern. Af ter classif ication and analysis, a
meridian map w as created.

3. Correlation of certain illnesses with acupuncture points

From every day experiences, Chinese people gradually recognized w hen a
particular disease or organ disorder occurred, they w ould f eel pain in a particular
part of their skin, w hich w as of ten associated w ith a rash or skin color changes.
These correlations w ere analyzed according to the ancient philosophies such as
the yin-yang and the five e le m e nts the orie s and f urther developed into an
integrated scientif ic and artistic model f or maintaining health in TCM.

M e ridians are a colle ction of acupuncture points

By connecting and uniting diff erent parts of our body,

meridians provide the transport service f or the
f undamental substances of qi, blood, and body f luids.
The f low of qi in the Meridian System concentrates or
"injects" in certain areas of the skin's surf ace. These
areas are very small points, otherw ise know n as
"acupuncture points". Although acupuncture points are
located externally and superf icially, they can aff ect the
internal f unctions of our body. There are 365
acupuncture points, and each point belongs to a particular meridian channel that
connects to specif ic organs.

Clas s ification of M e ridians

The Meridian System has 12 principal m e ridians that correspond to the yin and
yang organs and the pe ricardium . (Yin organs are usually those w ithout an
empty cavity, and include the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Yang organs
are organs w ith an empty cavity such as the gall bladder, small intestine, stomach,
large intestine and bladder. In TCM, yin and yang organs are physiological
f unctional units that incorporate a much broader meaning then common w estern
thinking.) Meridians linked w ith yin organs are know n as yin meridians; if they are
linked to yang organs, they are know n as yang meridians. In addition to the12
principal meridians, there are eight extra meridians and smaller netw ork-like luo
meridians. Among the eight extra meridians, the Gove rning Ve s s e l and the
Conce ption Ve s s e l are considered the most important channels, because they
contain acupuncture points w hich are independent of the tw elve principal
meridians.

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