Acupuncture to Gaohuang carries a risk of causing pneumothorax because it reaches the lungs at deep portion. This study was designed to consider a safe depth for acupuncture to Gaohuang.
1) We inserted a needle to Gaohuang on both sides of a cadaver to examine the location of the needle tip and measure the distance from the body surface of the left Gaohuang to the pleura. The tip was located at the fifth intercostal region on both sides, and the distance was 44 mm with a rib thickness of 10 mm. 2) Using 104 students, we inserted a needle to the left Gaohuang until the tip reached the rib, and measured the distance between the bodysurface and rib. The minimal distance was 14 mm. 3) We inserted a needle to Gaohuang on both sides of two males and took CT-radiographs to examine the location of the needle tip and measure the distance from the body surface of Gaohuang to the pleura. In a man of standard body size, the needle reached the rib on the left and the intercostal region on the right. The thickness of the left rib was 10.9 mm, and the distance from body surface to pleura was 33.6 mm on the left and 28.4 mm on the right. In a man of thin body size, the needle reached the rib on both sides, with the rib thickness was 9.8 mm on the left and 8.8 mm on the right. The distance from body surface to pleura was 29.4 mm on the left and 31.8 mm on the right. The above results showed that needle insertion within 19 mm (the minimal value of the measured distance between the body surface and rib + the half thickness of the rib) is safe.

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Treatment of tender points has widely been used for diagnosis and treatment, but there are few studies elucidating the usefulness of this approach to diagnosing knee pain. This study investigated the diagnostic importance of tender points. The symptoms and the pressure pain threshold (PPT) in osteoarthritis of the knee (pain and motion of knee joint) were measured in 45 patients being treated at the Acupuncture Center of Meiji University of Oriental Medicine. The change in PPT was related to symptoms of knee pain (staircase and flexion pain). It is suggested that changes in PPT around the knee joints are a useful indicator for evaluating knee pain.

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The effect of moxibustion on duodenal motility was examined. Duodenal motility was measured by the balloon method in anesthetized, artificially ventilated rats. The stimulation temperature and duration of moxibustion varied. Treatments were applied to the hind paw and abdomen.
The duodenal motility exhibited an excited response by pinch stimulation of hind paw, and inhibitory response by abdominal pinch stimulation. Duodenal motility did not show any response to indirect moxibustion stimulation of the hind paw and abdomen. Duodenal motility exhibited an excited response by direct application of moxibustion to the hind paw and an inhibitory response by direct application of moxibustion to the abdomen.

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[in Japanese]

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The present study investigated the effect of moxibustion for 4 weeks on insulin resistance in Otsuka-Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a model of spontaneous noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Glucose infusion rate (GIR) in the moxibustion group was higher than that in the control group. This finding suggests that moxibustion may be effective for insulin resistance.

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[in Japanese]

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