Reminiscences of microcirculatory studies on application of acupuncture needles to the rabbit in vivo.

One of the favorites of traditional oriental medical treatments with Japanese people may be acupuncture for various intractable and/or chronic symptoms caused by external insults such as bruises and thermal injuries. The present paper was aimed to reminisce our previous two works using a rabbit ear chamber technique on effects of experimental acupuncture upon basic behaviors of cutaneous microcirculation and their pathophysiological changes induced by topical thermal stimulation in cutaneous microvascular system in vivo. Application of a single acupuncture needle (32-gauge, silver) to the back of rabbits, corresponding to Geshu (B17) in human beings, showed an increased microvascular blood flow in parallel with augmentation of vasomotion. Daily application of respective three larger (32-gauge, silver) and smaller (0.12 mm in diameter and 4 mm in length, stainless steel) needles to fixed places of the back and ear lobe showed a notable acceleration of recovery from pathophysiological microcirculatory changes induced by the thermal stimulation such as hemorrhages and stases in accordance with restoration of vasomotion. Some implications of vasomotion in the curative effects of experimental acupuncture treatments were discussed from the microcirculatory point of view in conjunction with the clinical efficacy in human beings.