Aryana Libris

Author : World health organization
Title : WHO standard accupuncture point locations in the western pacific region
Year : 2009

Link download : World_health_organization_-_WHO_standard_accupuncture_point_locations.zip

Foreword. Along with herbal medicine, acupuncture has been used for more than 2500 years as one of the main pillars of traditional medicine in the Western Pacific Region. Accordingly, the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific adopted resolutions supporting the proper use of acupuncture and herbal medicine in 1985 and 1987. With the aim of standardization in the field of acupuncture, the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific organized a Working Group for the Standardization of Acupuncture Nomenclature in 1981 and, after 10 years of effort, a consensus was reached on the proposed standard international acupuncture nomenclature. In 1991, A Proposed Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature was published by WHO Headquarters and a revised edition of Standard Acupuncture Nomenclature was published by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. It was reported, however, that there was controversy among Member States regarding approximately one-fourth of regular acupuncture point locations, raising doubts and uncertainty regarding the efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment. It is not known when this disparity in location of acupuncture points first arose but, in recent decades, there has been a growing international demand for standardization of acupuncture point locations for education, research and clinical practice. However, since each Member State has its own initiatives and traditions, international standardization of acupuncture point locations has proved extremely difficult. As an initial step in standardizing acupuncture point locations, the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office convened the first Informal Consultation on the Development of WHO Standard of Acupuncture Point Locations in October 2003. Experts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea attended that consultation, and 10 further serial meetings were organized subsequently by the Regional Office. In the beginning, it appeared it would be almost impossible to harmonize the activities of the various participants. However, with the passing of time and the development of mutual understanding and trust, the experts managed to reach a consensus on most of the controversial acupuncture point locations, one by one. It took three years to achieve a set of internationally unified acupuncture point locations, an effort that has provided a firm and solid basis in the field of acupuncture. Recently, modern scientific apparatus, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (f-MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) has been utilized for acupuncture research. However, that research has not focused on developing standard acupuncture point locations. Therefore, the experts taking part in the consultations agreed on the development of principles and methods by combining document analysis, experts’ clinical experiences and factual measurements. Their efforts and the resulting outcomes will further enhance scientific research on acupuncture point locations. I would like to highlight that the experts involved in this project will be remembered, not just for standardizing acupuncture point locations, but also for building team spirit among international scholars in the field of traditional medicine. Shigeru Omi, MD, Ph.D. Regional Director. ...