title: The meanings and prospects of primo vascular system from the viewpoint of historical context.
abstract: The aim of this overview is to evaluate the primo vascular system research in the context of the history of meridian theory and the modern meanings of it. The 12 meridian systems were naturally presupposed in the conventional study of the meridians and acupuncture. But the excavations of Mawang-tui old documents and Sichuan Mianyang wooden puppet revealed the primordial concepts of meridians uncolored by the numerological cosmology of Han era. Further, the meridian map of horse, cow and hawk show another resemblance to the primordial type of meridians. Modern meridian theory has been challenged by the material based scientific theory and the primo vascular theory presents the most radical answer for it. It aims to reveal the anatomical entity of meridians. However, the study of primo vascular system is unexpectedly opening the new horizon of scientific integration of East and West beyond the mere searching for anatomical entity of meridians. Conclusions we have drawn from the historical reviews are, (1) the surface structure of the body reflects the physiopathological changes of inside the body, (2) by stimulating specific sites on the surface, it is possible to acquire therapeutic effects of certain symptoms, and (3) numbers and locations of meridian acupoints are variable among traditional meridian theories.
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Meridian Research Group, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jongwook
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Sanghun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee