The possibility of abolishing pain during operations by needling acupuncture points was detected in China 20 years ago. During the last years the Western World showed great interest in this method, which was tested in a great number of surgical operations. Acupuncture was successful, especially when it was introduced by a short conventional anesthesia. Of special importance seems the possible reduction of anesthetic agents. Though the mode of action of acupuncture cannot yet be explained completely, there exist three different hypotheses: Hypnosis and suggestion, neurophysiological and humoral mechanisms. An actual review on experiments concerning these theories is given.
20年前中国就发现了通过针刺穴位消除手术中疼痛的可能性。在过去几年里，西方世界对这种方法表现出极大的兴趣，该方法已在大量外科手术中进行了测试。针灸很成功，尤其是在采用短暂的传统麻醉辅助时。特别重要的是，它可能减少麻醉剂的使用。尽管针灸的作用方式尚未完全得到解释，但存在三种不同的假说：催眠与暗示、神经生理机制和体液机制。本文对有关这些理论的实验进行了实际综述。
