The autonomic nerve reflex holds a major key to both the understanding of the therapeutic mechanism observed in the acupuncture clinical situation in which therapy involves the body periphery, and in meridian study.
In recent years research concerning the physical-autonomic nerve reflex has advanced and the nerve mechanism of the peripheral-siceral reflex of the heart, stomach, small intestine, bladder, etc. in such animals as rats and cats has been made clear.
Using the change in number of heartbeats as a guide, I examined the peripheral-cardiac reflex in human beings and found that pain stimuli repeated 3 times at 14 locations on the body resulted in 3 individuals in a peripheral-cardiac reflex manifested by an increase in the number of heartbeats 61 of 84 times.
Also in 32 healthy adult males and females observations concerning the peripheral-cardiac reflex when pain stimulation, acupuncture stimulation and moxibustion stimulation were attempted showed that with acupuncture stimulation in a particular, a reaction opposite to that observed with pain stimulation, that is a reduction in the number of heartbeats was observed.
