What did The Jingluo / Meridian System look like?

Not physically visible — a theoretical model of the human body. The meridians are channels for qi and blood circulation, connecting surface acupoints with internal organs, forming a network system.

How did The Jingluo / Meridian System work?

Meridians pertain to the zang-fu organs internally and connect to the limbs and joints externally → qi and blood circulate through the meridians in a rhythmic flow → acupoints are nodes where qi enters and exits the body surface → needling acupoints can regulate the corresponding meridian and organ function → achieving therapeutic effects at distant body sites.

← DiscoveriesS-Tier · Foundational

经络系统

The Jingluo / Meridian System

The human body's surface-to-organ correspondence model, describing a network of qi-and-blood channels encompassing 12 primary meridians and 8 extraordinary vessels. A systems-level physiological model that remains the guiding theory of acupuncture today — now finding its anatomical correlate in the fascia-interstitium network.

经络系统

Scientific Principle

The fascia-interstitium hypothesis: Benias et al. (2018, Sci Rep) first characterized the interstitium as a body-wide continuous 3D network of collagen scaffold + hyaluronan matrix + dynamic fluid. Xia et al. (2026, Front Physiol) proposed the 'fascial-interstitial system = sanjiao-mocou system = anatomical substrate of meridians.' Li et al. (2021) described an 'acupoint-originated human interstitial fluid circulatory network.' Bai et al. (2011, eCAM) reviewed evidence that the fascia network is the physical basis for acupoints and meridians. Acupuncture needle manipulation mechanically stimulates connective tissue → fibroblast mechanotransduction → ATP/PGE2 signaling → neuro-immune cascade.