Classic and modern meridian studies: A review of low hydraulic resistance channels along meridians and their relevance for therapeutic effects in traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract

Meridian theory is one of the core components of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It gives an integral explanation for how human life works, how a disease forms, and how a therapy acts to treat a disease. If we do not understand the meridians, it is hard to understand the TCM. People in China and abroad had been working hard for 50 years, trying to understand the meridians; then 15 years ago a breakthrough idea appeared when we realized that they are low resistance fluid channels where various chemical and physical transports take place. The channel is called low hydraulic resistance channel (LHRC) and the chemical transport is named volume transmission (VT). This review aims to give a full understanding of the essence of meridian and its works on the therapies of TCM.