Meridians: Chinese Medicine's Subway System

For a long time, people in the west have done research on Chinese medicine meridians, hoping to find a way to explain them using Western language and ideas. Some have postulated that this system of channels is actually the nervous system. Though the routes of these channels may, at times, resemble the way our nerves spread throughout the body, the meridian system is a very different network.

The meridians are pathways in the body that can transport qi, blood and fluids. From a strictly anatomical viewpoint, this does not completely make sense. No one can visually see these pathways. They can, however, be mapped out on the body, and Chinese medicine doctors have been doing so for more than 2,000 years. Accumulated clinical records of real patients undergoing acupuncture treatment have honed the accuracy and effectiveness of these maps. Acupuncture can bring about measurable physiological changes. The theory behind these changes focuses around these meridians.

Think of the meridians as subway lines. The subway cars are blood and fluid and the people who ride the trains are qi. If trains are on schedule, then everyone is happy. This situation is equivalent to a healthy body. If one of the trains breaks down, the other trains get backed up. The qi, blood and fluids can't get through, which can cause pain or disease. For this reason, meridian theory encourages free flow of qi, blood and fluids. Proper flow regulates yin and yang, moistens the bones and tendons and lubricates the joints. Although acupuncture is currently the most popular method with respect to this theory, other methods can be effective as well, including moxibustion, herbal remedies, qigong and taichi, and tuina massage.

To learn more, please continue reading. If you want to learn about other aspects of Chinese medicine, choose from the following:

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Table of Contents:
-Types of Meridians
-The Twelve Regular Meridians
-Flow of Qi in the Meridians
-Twelve Regular Meridians Paths and Pathology

Types of Meridians
The two main categories of meridians [经络 jing1 luo4] are called major and connecting.

The major meridians [经脉 jing1 mai4] are mapped out very clearly and travel deep into the body. They consist of twelve regular meridians [十二经脉 shi2 er4 jing1 mai4] (organ related) and eight irregular meridians [奇经八脉 qi2 jing1 ba1 mai4]. Qi and blood constantly flow through the regular meridians and, when abundant, feed the irregular meridians.

The connecting meridians [络脉 luo4 mai4] branch off from the majors。

Because of their nominal importance, we will focus on the major meridians, the most important of which are the twelve regular meridians.

The Twelve Regular Meridians
Here is a chart listing the twelve regular meridians.

For example, the lungs and the spleen work together in many ways. Have you ever had phlegm in your throat you couldn’t get out? This phlegm is associated with a weakening of the lungs. By strengthening the spleen, the phlegm can be eliminated. This exchange and communication only occurs because there is communication between the meridians.

Flow of Qi in the Meridians
Qi within the meridians follows a certain path. Each meridian is connected end to end as can be seen in the diagram. So qi will flow through the stomach completely before it moves to the spleen. Then from the spleen it will move to the heart and so on.

Another interesting aspect to the direction of qi flow through the meridians is that connection to yin and yang.

The three hand yang meridians go from the hands to the head, the three foot yang meridians go from the head to the feet, the three foot yin meridians go from the feet to the chest/abdomen, and the three hand yin meridians go from the chest/abdomen to the hands. You can see from this picture is that all the yang meridians either start or end up at the head (remember from yin and yang that up is considered yang). All the yin meridians either start or end up at the chest/abdomen (down is considered yin).

Twelve Regular Meridians Paths and Pathology
When diagnosing a patient, a doctor will look at various symptoms. If the symptoms are related to certain meridians, then the doctor will know these meridians should be involved in treatment, whether through acupuncture, herbs, tuina massage, etc. For each of the 12 regular meridians, there are both internal (related to the internal organs and bone marrow) and exterior (related to the skin and body hair, muscles, and subcutaneous tissues) symptoms. Let's take a quick look at some of the symptoms related to each of the 12 regular meridians.

1. Hand Tai Yin Lung
Internal: rapid breathing, wheezing, fullness in the chest, cough, dry throat
External: Aversion to cold(with or without sweating) and fever, headache, pain in the shoulders, chest and back, nasal congestion, and cold pain on the arm part of the meridian.

2. Hand Yang Ming Large Intestine
Internal: Thin stool, lower and migratory abdominal pain, intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas (borborygmus), rapid breathing
External: Sore throat, toothache, dry mouth and thirst, parched, fever, nosebleed, red eyes and pain, red swelling in the fingers, swelling of the neck

3. Foot Yang Ming Stomach
Internal: Abdominal distention, fullness and edema, restlessness and discomfort while active or while lying down, mania or withdrawal, abnormally rapid digestion(hyperpepsia), yellow urine
External: high fever or malaria, sweating, manic agitation, aversion to cold, flushed face, delirium, dry nose and nosebleeds, sore larynx (voice box), eye pain, lesions on the lips and the mouth, swollen neck, wry mouth, chest pain, lower limb pain, cold, redness and swelling

4. Foot Tai Yin Spleen
Internal: Stomach pain and thin diarrhea, stool containing undigested food, borborygmi (intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas), retching, nausea, reduced food intake, jaundice, inhibited urination
External: Heavy feeling in the body and head, limb fatigue and weakness, fever, pain in the jaw and lower cheek areas, motor impairment of the tongue, lack of muscle tone in the limbs, cold along the inside of the thigh and knee, swelling of the legs and feet

5. Hand Shao Yin Heart
Internal: Heartburn, fullness and pain in the chest and the lateral rib region, pain in the abdominal area, restlessness, rapid breathing, discomfort when lying down, dizziness
External: Fever, headache, eye pain, pain in the chest and back muscles, dry throat, thirst, hot palms, shoulder pain or middle forearm pain

6. Hand Tai Yang Small Intestine
Internal: Lower abdominal pain and distention with the pain stretching around to the lumbar or radiating to the testicles, diarrhea, stomach pain with dry bowel movements, constipation
External: Cheek pain, sore pharynx, excess of tears (lacrimation), stiffness in the neck, pain on the lateral aspect of the shoulder and upper arm

7. Foot Tai Yang Bladder
Internal: pain and distention in the lower abdomen, inhibited urination, urinary block, involuntary discharge of urine (enuresis), mental disorders
External: Chills and fever, headache, stiff neck, pain in the lumbar region and along the spine, nasal congestion, eye pain and excess of tears, pain in the thigh, pain behind the knee (popliteal), calf muscle and foot

8. Foot Shao Yin Kidney
Internal: Diziness, facial edema, bleary eyes, ash colored complexion, shortness of breath, short rapid breathing, restlessness, diarrhea, thin stool or dry stool evacuated with difficulty, abdominal distention, nausea and vomiting, impotence
External: Lower back pain, dry mouth, sore pharynx, pain in the lateral gluteal region and thigh, there may be pain in the soles of the feet

9. Hand Jue Yin Pericardium
Internal: Delirious speech, restlessness, full in the chest and the lateral rib region, loss or impairment of the power to use or comprehend words usually resulting from brain damage (aphasia), palpitations, heartburn, constant laughter
External: stiffness of the neck, spasm in the limbs, red facial complexion, eye pain, hot palms

10. Hand Shao Yang Triple Energizer
Internal: Abdominal distention and fullness, hardness and fullness in the lower abdomen, frequent urination, swelling, involuntary discharge of urine (enuresis)
External: Sore throat, pain in the cheeks, pain and inflammation of the eyes, deafness, pain behind the ears and on the posterior aspect of the shoulder and upper arm

11. Foot Shao Yang Gallbladder
Internal: Pain in the lateral rib area, vomiting, bitter taste in the mouth and pain in the chest
External: Alternating fever and chills, headache, malaria, ash color complexion, eye pain, pain under the chin, swelling on the neck, deafness, pain on the side of the buttocks and in the thigh, knee and fibula

12. Foot Jue Yin Liver
Internal: fullness, distention and pain in the rib region, fullness and oppression in the chest, abdominal pain, vomiting, jaundice, diarrhea, lower abdominal pain, involuntary discharge of urine (enuresis), urinary block, yellow urine
External: headache, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, fever, spasm of the limbs

For information on how Qi, Blood and Fluids interact with each other, please see Qi, Blood, and Fluids

Yin and Yang  Five Elements  Qi  Blood   Fluids  Qi, Blood, and Fluids  Essence  Viscera   Diseases and Their Causes  Four examinations   Syndrome Differentiation (Pattern Identification)