Tissue micro-channels formed by collagen fibers and their internal components: cellular evidence of proposed meridian conduits in vertebrate skin

The debate over the matter essence of the meridian in Chinese Traditional Medicine has some two thousands year history, which impedes the therapy practice of the acupuncture and cupping treatment. Morphological investigation is the first and most direct strategy for uncovering the structural characteristics of meridian conduits. In the present study, a special tissue micro-channel (TMC) network was revealed throughout the skin fascia in different species, which could interpret most meridian phenomena and compatible different mainstream hypotheses of the meridian. Analogous features of the TCs and meridian conduits suggested that TMC and their network is the potential essence of the meridian conduits.

关于中医学经络实质之辩，源远流长，已有近两千年之历史，此乃针灸及拔罐等治疗法实践之阻碍。形态学探究乃揭示经络管道结构特征的最初且最为直接之策略。在本研究中，我们揭示了一种特殊的组织微通道网络（TMC），该网络遍布于不同物种的皮肤筋膜之中，能够阐释多数经络现象，并兼容经络之主流假说。TCs（组织微通道）与经络管道的类比特征表明，TMC及其网络可能是经络管道之潜在实质。