Information for medical doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors, acupuncturists interested in the medical acupuncture course offered by Dr Yun-tao Ma

Recent discoveries of Professor Long-xiang Huang, Vice President of the Acupuncture Institute of the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, proved the necessity and validity of the biomedical approach to acupuncture.

For over 20 years, Prof. Huang has meticulously studied all of the ancient acupuncture literature from archaeological relics to Qing dynasty manuscripts. The results of his research has been highly acclaimed by the Chinese authorities. The research showed that for centuries when clinical realities did not fit into an existing theory, the facts were often suppressed to ensure the continuance of the theory, in a style that the Chinese call "cutting the foot to fit the shoe". Thus, traditional acupuncture as we know it today is made up of valuable concepts and clinical experience mixed with fallacious theories and imperfect explanations.

Prof. Huang made the following conclusions:

• The traditional "Channel/Meridian" theory simply reflects the level of medical knowledge of the ancient doctors who tentatively tried to explain the interrelatedness between the parts of the body surface and the internal organs.

• The "Channel/Meridian" theory has successfully accomplished its historical mission of preserving and developing acupuncture and presently, it has become the narrow neck of the bottle which is impeding the further development of acupuncture medicine in the 21st century.

Professor Huang emphasizes that the most valuable discovery in classical acupuncture theory is the interrelatedness between the parts of the body surface, and between the parts of the body surface and the internal organs. This interrelatedness represents the immortal "pearls" of classic acupuncture and is also the cornerstone of biomedical acupuncture.