The frequencies of the urinary complaints oa the outpatients (male 188, female 339, average age 59.2+14.9) of the five acupuncture clinics were surveyed. The elder patients showed the higher frequencies of the urinary complaints. The frequencies of the complaints were as follows: nocturia (25.8%), urinary urgency (17.7%), stress incontinence (16.3%), sense of residual urine (15.2%), protracted micturition (12.0%), and retarded micturition (11.3%), respectively. The nocturia was accompanied with the majority of the other urinary complaints. These results suggest that the survey of the patient's complaint of nocturia is useful.

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A male patient aged 70 years, diagnosed as the benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) stage I, was the subject of this study. The effectiveness of acupuncture was evaluated by uroflowmetry (UFM). The patient received acupuncture treatments once a week for 5 weeks. Disposable needles (0.30mm in diameter), were inserted into bilateral Zhongliao (BL-33) points and rotated manually for 10 minutes. Average flow rate (AFR), maximum flow rate (MFR) and flow curve (FC) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment. The AFR before acupuncture, immediately after the treatments and twelve months after the cessation of acupuncture were 3.2ml/s, 11.4ml/s and 2ml/s, respectively. The MFR were 10ml/s, 20ml/s and 10ml/s, respectively. FC was observed as normal pattern during the treatment, but the obstructive pattern were recorded before and after the treatment.
Acupuncture treatment to the BL-33 points for BPH was shown to be useful although the effect was not long-lasting.

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We report a case of overactive type neurogenic bladder with detrusor sphincter dyssnergia (DSD) that was successfully treated with acupuncture. The patient had urinary dysfunction after laminectomy of Th11, Th12 and L1. The symptoms chart, the frequency volume chart and urodynamic study (UDS) were used to evaluate urinary disturbance and the effect of acupuncture treatment. After the treatment, those charts showed improvement of pollakisuria, urinary urgency, urge incontinence, sense of residual urine and voiding volume. The UDS showed increase of bladder capacity, decrease of residual urine volume and disappearance of DSD. These results suggest that acupuncture treatment for overactive bladder and DSD is therefore useful. However, it is considered that the treatment for neurogenic bladder patients should be required long-term examination because of the importance for long-dated clinical observation.

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The aim of this study was to investigate effects of acupuncture treatment on the improvement of visual acuity.
Six patients (male: 5, femal: 1, aged: 20-24) in the department of Ophtalmology were diagnosed with myopia grevis.
Used acupoints were EX-HN4, Jingming (B1), Hegu (Li4), Feugchi (G20), which were stimulated with the leaving needl techniqe for 10 minutes.
Acupuncture treatment was performed everyweek.
After 10 times treatment, the effect of acupuncture on visual acuity was evaluated.
As a result, three patients showed a remarkable improvement of the visual acuity and others not subsequently, the improved patients observed for 5 to 7 weeks without treatment in order to examine the durability of acupuncture effects.
While, the other three patients were treated with the electro-acupuncture instead of the leaving needl technique.
The visual acuity of the patients in whom acupuncture effective declined without treatment, but their visual acuity was kept at on higher level than before treatment.
On the other hand, the visual auity of the other patients improved by using electro-acupuncture.
These results suggest that acupuncture treatment is effective in improbvement of visual acuity and the effect remains for a certain period, and electro-acupuncture is effective when we do not get effect on vusual acuity with the leaving needle techniqe.

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The location of organs and tissues at the tip of acupuncture needle inserted in acupuncture point was studied on the human transverse sections.
A female, Japanese, cadavar (135cm long and 52kg in weight) was fixed with aldehyde mixture and frozen from 3 weeks at -30°C. Then the cadaver was cut into blocks along the transverse planes perpendicular to the median plane at each point of Bladder meridian.
This report describes the depth of organs and tissues in 5 transverse planes from SHINYU BL 15 (Bladder meridian) to TANYU BL 19 (Bladder meridian).
At SHINYU BL 15, acupuncture needle penetrates through 5mm thick skin, 2mm thick hypodermis, 3mm thick trapezius, and 17mm thick deep back muscle in thick was respectively. The needle reaches to the 6th rib at 27mm away from the surface.
At TOKUYU BL 16, the needle penetrates through the skin, hypodermis, trapezius, and deep back muscles of 5, 3, 3, 17mm in thickness respectively.
The needle reaches to the 7th rib at 28mm away from the surface.
At KAKUYU BL 17, the needle penetrates through the skin, hypodermis, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and deep back muscles of 4, 2, 3, 1, 20 in thickness respectively. The needle reaches to the 8th rib at 30mm away from the surface.
At KANYU BL 18, the needle penetrates through the skin, hypodermis and deep back muscles of 5, 6, 32mm in thickness respectively. The needle reaches to the 10th rib at 43mm away from the surface.
At TANYU BL 19, needle penetrates through the skin, hypodermis, and deep back muscles of 4, 7, 32mm in thickness respectively. The needle reaches to the 11th rib at 43mm away from the surface.
Depth of acupuncture points studies was discussed from the clinical points of views.

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Millstones used in the production of moxa were studied. Most manufacturers of moxa use handmills in the production of moxa. These handmills are about 70cm in diameter, and the upper and lower mortars are each 20cm thick. On the surface of each handmill, there are 6 demarcations, each with 6 or 7 grooves. The handmills make 30-50 rotations per minute. Low quality moxa is pulverized once by the handmill while in producing high quality moxa, the process is repeated 2 or 3 times. After pulverization, the moxa is passed through a sieve.
Millstones used in the production of moxa are processed from rough stones such as amphibole andesite and calc-alkali amphibole andesite which are produce of Hayakawa in Itoigawa city, Niigata province.
We also encountered a millstone with a unique form which had not been reported in the literature.

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