A Summary of Research Concerning the Effects of Acupuncture

Abstract

Translators' Introduction: The following is a translation of a section from the book Acupuncture by the Shanghai College of Traditional Medicine. It is a systematic survey of acupuncture research findings in China, into a clinical guide, so that in many cases the method of needling, the period of treatment, a thorough listing of all loci used in each experiment and a quantiative measurement of the resutls are not specified. Presumbably, these details can be found in the various sources cited throughout the article and listed at the end, sources which, unfortunately, are unavailable to us in Hong Kong and Macao and quite likely in other places outside China at the preset time. Despite these limitations, however, the results are clear; acupuncture has a far more varied effect on the body than simple analgesia and anesthesia. Very little of the text has been edited. Some unclear points or redundancies were omitted and a few points of clarification added. Throughout we have relied on the Chinese Pinyin system in Romanizing names and places.