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.中医（Traditional Chinese Medicine）经络（meridian）的物质本质之争已有约两千年历史，该争议长期掣肘针灸与拔罐疗法的临床实践。形态学研究是揭示经络管道结构特征的首要且最直接的研究策略。本研究在不同物种的皮肤筋膜中，发现了一类特殊的组织微通道（Tissue Micro-channel, TMC）网络；该网络可解释绝大多数经络相关现象，且能够兼容当前主流的各类经络假说。组织微通道与经络管道的相似特征表明，TMC及其网络极有可能是经络管道的物质本质。