Abstract
By dissection of specially preserved cadavers, we have found 323 of 324 points could be located in relation to nervous structure, either the branches of cranial or the spinal nerve, this anatomical relationship is probably part of the neurological basis of acupuncture sensation.
Clinical observation on patients of neurological diseases have revealed that the afferent pathway of acupuncture sensation is in the ventrolateral funiculus of spinal cord.
The role of the caudate nucleus in acupuncture analgesia and its anatomical connections have been studied. The results shown that caudate stimulation produced analgesia is similar to acupuncture analgesia in certain aspects, and caudate lesion attenuates acupuncture analgesia. The caudate’nucleus connects directly with structures either algesic or analgesic like the parafasciculus nucleus and raphe nuclei. The caudate nucleus also has functional connections with the periaqueductal gray and the preoptic area. It is postulated that, acupuncture impulses reach the caudate nucleus and activate it, resulting in the depression of pain transmission via the descending inhibition system, is part of the mechanism in acupuncture analgesia.
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