The meridians are the channels that run qi and blood in the human body, including meridians and meridians. "Jing", which has the meaning of a path, is the backbone of going straight; "Network", which has the meaning of a network, is a branch of the side line. The upper and lower vertical lines of the meridians are the main part of the meridians; The meridians branch out of the meridians and are small parts of the meridians. The meridians crisscross the body and are an important part of the human body.

The meridian system is a system composed of meridians and meridians that are connected and connected with each other. There is the activity of meridian qi in the meridian system. The so-called meridian qi, that is, the qi of the meridians, generally refers to the qi of the meridians and their functional activities. The meridian system connects the tissues and organs of the human body, the limbs and the bones into an organic whole, and regulates the functions of all parts of the body through the activities of meridians and qi, runs qi and blood, and coordinates yin and yang, so that the whole body maintains coordination and relative balance. The meridian theory is a theoretical system that expounds the circulation, distribution, physiological function, pathological changes and the relationship between the meridian system and the viscera of the human body, which is an important part of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and has an important guiding role in the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine, especially acupuncture.

The meridian system is composed of meridians and meridians, of which the meridians include 12 meridians, 8 odd meridians, and 12 meridians, 12 meridians, and 12 skins attached to the 12 meridians; The veins include fifteen veins and the innumerable floating veins, sun veins, etc.

1. Twelve meridians

The 12 meridians refer to the meridians to which the 12 viscera belong, which are the main body of the meridian system, so they are also called "canons".

(1) The name of the 12 meridians: The name of the 12 meridians is composed of 3 parts: hands and feet, yin and yang, and viscera. First, use the hands and feet to divide the twelve meridians into the six meridians of the hands and the six meridians of the feet; All the meridians that belong to the six organs and follow the inner side of the limbs are the yin meridians, and the meridians that belong to the six internal organs and follow the outer sides of the limbs are the yang meridians. According to the law of the growth and decline of yin and yang, yin and yang are divided into three yin and three yang, the three yin are the taiyin, the less yin, and the three yangs are yangming, the sun, and the less yang. According to the above naming rules, the names of the twelve meridians are the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, the Hand Yang Ming Large Intestine Meridian, the Zu Yang Ming Stomach Meridian, the Zu Tai Yin Spleen Meridian, the Hand Shao Yin Heart Meridian, the Hand Sun Small Intestine Meridian, the Foot Sun Bladder Meridian, the Foot Shao Yin Kidney Meridian, the Hand Shao Yang Pericardial Meridian, the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, the Zu Shao Yang Gall Meridian, and the Zu Shao Yang Liver Meridian.

(2) The distribution law of the 12 meridians: the 12 meridians are symmetrically distributed on the head and face, trunk and limbs, and run through the whole body. The 6 Yin meridians (Six Yin Meridians) that belong to the six internal organs are distributed on the inner side of the limbs and the chest and abdomen, the inner side of the upper limbs is the three Yin meridians of the hands, and the inner side of the lower limbs is the three Yin meridians of the feet; The six yang meridians (six yang meridians) that belong to the six internal organs are distributed on the outside of the limbs, the head and face, and the trunk, with the outer side of the upper limbs being the three yang meridians of the hands and the outer sides of the lower limbs being the three yang meridians of the feet. The distribution of the 12 meridians in the limbs presents a certain regularity, which is specifically expressed as follows: according to the upright posture, the arms are lowered and the thumbs are forward, and the inner and outer sides of the upper and lower limbs are divided into three zones: anterior, middle and posterior. The Yang meridian of the hands and feet is Yang Ming in the front, Shaoyang in the middle, and the Sun in the back; The Yin meridians of the hands and feet are Taiyin in the front, Yin in the middle, and Shaoyin in the back. Among them, the three yin meridians of the foot are less than 8 inches on the inner malleolus of the foot, which is the syncope yin in the front, the taiyin in the middle, and the shaoyin in the back, and more than 8 inches above the inner malleolus, and the taiyin is handed over before the syncope yin.

2. The Eight Veins of the Strange Meridian

The eight veins of the Qi Jing refer to the meridians of the strange line, including the Du vein, the Ren vein, the Chong vein, the belt vein, the Yin vein, the Yang vein, the Yin stilt vein, and the Yang stilt vein, a total of 8 lines, so it is called the eight veins of the Qi Jing.

"Qi" has the meaning of "strange", that is, peculiar, strange. The eight veins of the Qi Jing are different from the twelve canons, they are not directly subordinate to the twelve viscera, and there is no relationship between the outside and the inside, so they are called the "Qi Jing", also known as the meridians of "other strange ways". The Du Pulse, Ren Pulse, and Chong Pulse in the Eight Veins of the Qi Jing all originate from the cell, and all come from the perineum, and follow the front and back midlines of the human body and both sides of the abdomen respectively, so they are called "one source and three fids". Du Mai can regulate the yang meridian qi of the whole body, so it is called "the sea of yang veins"; Ren pulse can regulate the yin meridian and pulse qi of the whole body, so it is called "the sea of yin veins"; The pulse can contain and regulate the qi and blood of the twelve meridians, so it is called the "sea of the twelve meridians", also known as the "sea of blood".

In addition to the transverse circulation of the belt veins, the eight veins of the Qi Jing are all longitudinal and criss-cross and distributed between the twelve meridians. The main role of the eight meridians is reflected in two aspects: first, it communicates the connection between the twelve meridians, connects the meridians with similar parts and functions, and plays the role of controlling the qi and blood of the relevant meridians and coordinating yin and yang; Second, it has a regulatory effect on the accumulation and infiltration of qi and blood in the twelve meridians. If the twelve meridians are like rivers, the eight meridians are like lakes. The general distribution and function of the eight veins of the Qi Jing are shown in Table 1-2-1.

Table 1-2-1 Distribution and function of the eight veins of the Qi Jing

The Ren pulse and the Du pulse in the eight veins of the Qi Jing have their own acupoints, so they are compared with the Twelve Classics and collectively called the "Fourteen Classics". The 14 meridians all have a certain route, symptoms and acupoints, and are the main part of the meridian system.