Traditional Chinese Medicine has, for thousands of years, been the most consistently prevalent and popular form of medicine worldwide. However, have you ever wondered how and where to locate Acu-points?

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture meridians are thought channels and lines whereby Qi (pronounced "chee"), or energy, travels. It is this that connects all parts of the body together. It is along these meridians that acupuncture or acupressure points are allocated.

These channels or lines are located similarly throughout the body in both human and veterinary acupuncture. However, the anatomy of humans and animals is considerably dissimilar. Therefore, the absolute location of acu-points is different.

Channels, Points and Qi

Both sides of the body consist of 12 meridians for acupuncture which run parallel. Each one connects to a particular organ.

There are eight extra acupuncture meridians which do not connect to particular organs. They function as a pathway for "Qi" or energy flow.

The Conception and Governor vessels are the two most important vessels.

• Conception

This vessel begins at the head and runs down the center of the body at the front.

• Governor

This vessel runs upwards along the center of the back to the head.

Each and every acupuncture point is identified in the traditional Chinese system by its name and function. However, nowadays there is a much easier way of recognizing and understanding the acupuncture points, which is now used globally, and that is numerical identification.

Why are Meridians Numbered Differently?

The numbering of acupuncture meridians depends upon the direction of flow of Qi. This means that when Qi flows from the body towards an extremity, the numbering of the acu points will increase towards the end of the extremity.

However, after saying that, if Qi flows alongside a meridian from the extremity towards the body, then the numbering increases towards the body.

Listed below are the 12 major meridians:

• Governor Vessel (GV)

• Conception Vessel (CV)

• Heart (HT)

• Pericardium (PC)

• Lung (LU)

• Small Intestine (SI)

• Large Intestine (LI)

• Kidney (KI)

• Stomach (ST)

• Liver (LR)

• Spleen (SP)

• Gallbladder (GB)

• Bladder (BL)

• Triple Energizer (TE)

This numbering system assists in locating the acu points. For example, GV 14 is the name given to the fourteenth point along the Governor Vessel. Therefore, if you are familiar with the anatomy, you will be able to locate this point on a human, dog, bird, or horse.

This numeric system is also used in Western acupuncture. Using this system allows the exact treatment to be written down in a very short manner. Using this system is simple and efficient when it comes to communicating and describing the placement of the needles in acupuncture.

However, at times it can be rather difficult to understand why. For example, the LI meridian runs up the forearm and not somewhere over the abdomen.

Transpositional Points and Meridians

It is in veterinary acupuncture that meridians and their location are transpositioned from the human body to the equivalent anatomic site in animals.

There does exist particular disagreements in the veterinary world when it comes to transpositioned meridian locations. The importance of some acu-points in animals is questioned due to the variety of species that exist and their anatomies. However, it cannot be denied that all species and patients generally enjoy their treatment sessions.

One extremely important location in humans is the LI4 (fourth point on the Large Intestine) which is located in the first dorsal interosseous muscle, which is located between the thumb and fore finger.

This exact same muscle in a dog is located within the tiny tissue which is connected to the dewclaw or where the dewclaw should be. Therefore, you can see that the difference in human and animal acupuncture is largely different. Equines have no muscle whatsoever in this location, which does in fact question the importance of such a point for these species in comparison to the undoubted effects in humans.

Humans have 366 acupuncture points, whilst dogs or horses have much less. For example, a dog has 76 points and horses have 173 points all of which can be needled effectively.

It is of great importance that when seeking acupuncture for your animal, that it is only undertaken by a veterinary surgeon as a point of law (Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966).