[Study on Volt-ampere (V-A) characteristics of human acupoints].
OBJECTIVE
To study on basic Volt-ampere (V-A) characteristics of human acupoints and the changes with physiologic and pathologic changes, and probe their biophysical basis.


METHODS
The research works of this research group about V-A characteristics of acupoints in recent 10 years were systematized and analyzed.


RESULTS
V-A characteristic curve of human acupoints is of the both characteristics of non-linear and inertia. Compared with controlled point, the lower electric resistance characteristic of acupoints is not popular and the lower inertia is popular. V-A area of acupoints has no obvious circadian rhythms and the inertia area of a large part of acupoints has obvious circadian rhythms, with the phase of peak value corresponding to the phase of valley value of body temperature rhythms. V-A characteristics of acupoints in the patients of heart disease or stomach diseases changes obviously, and these changes have a certain specificities of acupoints. After remission of the lesion, the V-A characteristics of acupoints restore normal. The V-A area and the inertia area of acupoints in the corpse are obviously smaller than the normal person, with disappearance of the characteristics of both the non-linear and inertia of the normal person.


CONCLUSIONS
Human acupoints have characteristics of non-linear and inertia, and the non-linear characteristic reflects complexity of physiology and behavior, while the inertia characteristic is related with energy metabolism of acupoints. The inertia area can more sensitively reflect human physiologic and pathological changes as compared with the V-A area, so it is an important index for the studies on electric characteristics of acupoints in the future.
Shen
Xue-yong
XY
Shanbehai University of TCM, Shanghai 201203, China. snowysh@hotmail.com
Wei
Jian-zi
JZ
Zhang
Yi-he
YH
Ding
Guang-hong
GH
Wang
Cai-hong
CH
Zhang
Hai-meng
HM
Zhou
Yu
Y
Wang
Ting
T
D015669:Acupuncture Points; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology