Review of Needling- or Moxibustion-prohibited Points in “Illustrated Manual for the Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion with the Help of a Bronze Figure bearing Acupuncture Points” and “The Classic of Supplementing Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion”

In this issue of the journal, recommended articles are selected from the Korean Journal of Acupuncture (ISSN: 1229-7933) published in Korean and from the Journal of Pharmacopuncture (ISSN: 1226-4849) published in English.

(1) Korean Journal of Acupuncture, Vol.29, No.1, pp.1∼15, 2012

Review of Needling- or Moxibustion-prohibited Points in “Illustrated Manual for the Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion with the Help of a Bronze Figure bearing Acupuncture Points” and “The Classic of Supplementing Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion”

Jang-Cheon Lee, Byung-Kwan Seo, Sun-Oh Kwon, Hi-Joon Park, Dae-Hyun Hahm, Hye-Jung Lee, Seung-Tae Kim

Abstract

Objectives: This research was projected to verify the validities of needling- or moxibustion—prohibited acupoints in the “Illustrated Manual for the Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion with the Help of a Bronze Figure Bearing Acupuncture Points” (IMPAM) and The Classic of Supplementing Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion” (CSLAM).

Methods: We investigated acupoints which have prohibitions, notices or adverse events in IMPAM and CSLAM when performing needling or moxibustion. Then, we verified those prohibitions, notices, and adverse events.

Results: In IMPAM, 2 acupoints were prohibited from both needling and moxibustion, 22 acupoints were prohibited from needling and 29 were prohibited from moxibustion. In CSLAM, 3 acupoints were prohibited from both needling and moxibustion, 24 acupoints were prohibited from needling and 31 were prohibited from moxibustion. Most of the prohibitions, the notices and the adverse events of the acupoints written in IMPAM and CSLAM had medical or philological bases, and the number of them was larger than that in the “A-B Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion” (ABCAM).

Conclusions: The prohibitions, the notices and the adverse events in IMPAM and CSLAM when performing acupuncture or moxibustion reflected the medical experience and knowledge of the Time, and the knowledge was increased compared to that in the ABCAM.

Key words: acupoint; acupuncture; moxibustion; prohibition; adverse event