title: Acupuncture at homotopic acupoints exerts dual effects on bladder motility in anesthetized rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In Chinese medicine, dual effects on target organs are considered a primary characteristic of acupoint. Acupoints may be classified as heterotopic or homotopic in terms of spinal segmental innervation: homotopic acupoints contain afferent innervation in the same segment from which efferent fibers innervate target visceral organs, and heterotopic acupoints utilize different spinal segments to innervate target visceral organs than the segment receiving the afferent signal. It is well-known that dual effects of acupuncture on the bladder can be generated based on different states of the bladder, however, the dual effects of single acupoint stimulation and acupoint site-specificity (homotopic acupoints and heterotopic acupoints) on the bladder have yet to be investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and the intravesical pressure was measured via a manometric balloon inserted into the bladder. The acupuncture needle was separately inserted to a depth of 4 mm at the acupoints RN1 (Huiyin), RN3 (Zhongji), BL28 (Pangguangshu), BL32 (Ciliao), RN2 (Qugu) or BL23 (Shenshu), and manually rotated right then left with a frequency of 2 Hz for 1 min. Following acupuncture stimulation, bladder pressure was recorded and compared against the pre-stimulation measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the bladder's active state, manual acupuncture (MA) at RN1, RN3, BL28, BL32 or RN2 inhibited bladder motility (P < 0.01). In the static bladder, MA at RN1, RN3, BL28, BL32, RN2 or BL23 increased bladder motility (P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MA at homotopic acupoints may produce dual effects on bladder motility: inhibiting bladder motility when in an active state and enhancing bladder motility when in a static state.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China. 839938064@qq.com.|Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Henan Orthopaedics Hospital, Luoyang, 471002, Henan Province, China. 839938064@qq.com.
authors.forename: Qingguang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Acupuncture, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China. 13581688597@126.com.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China. liukun0125@163.com.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China. 13366566779@163.com.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China. gaoxy@mail.cintcm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xinyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China. zhubing@mail.cintcm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000818:Animals; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000503:physiopathology*