MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province210095, China.
Microsc Microanal. 2020 Oct;26(5):1069-1075. doi: 10.1017/S1431927620024381.
In order to clarify fine structures of the hypothetical meridian conduits of Chinese traditional medicine (CTM) in the skin, the present study used light and transmission electron microscopy to examine fasciae in different vertebrate species. Collagen fiber bundles and layers were arranged in a crisscross pattern, which developed into a special tissue micro-channel (TMC) network, in a manner that was analogs to the proposed skin meridian conduits. It was further revealed that tissue fluid in lateral TMC branches drained into wide longitudinal channels, which were distinctly different from lymphatic capillary. Mast cells, macrophages, and extracellular vesicles such as ectosomes and exosomes were distributed around telocytes (TCs) and their long processes (Telopodes, Tps) within the TMC. Cell junctions between TCs developed, which could enable the communication between contiguous but distant Tps. On the other hand, winding free Tps without cell junctions were also uncovered inside the TMC. Tissue fluid, cell junctions of TCs, mast cells, macrophages, and extracellular vesicles within the TMC corresponded to the circulating "" ("Qi-Xue", i.e., information, message, and energy) of meridian conduits at the cytological level. These results could provide morphological evidence for the hypothesis that "meridians are the conduit for Qi-Xue circulation" in CTM.
为了阐明中医（TCM）经络假说在皮肤中的精细结构，本研究采用光镜和透射电镜观察了不同脊椎动物的筋膜。胶原纤维束和层呈十字交叉排列，形成特殊的组织微通道（TMC）网络，类似于所提出的皮肤经络管道。进一步揭示，侧 TMC 分支中的组织液排入宽的纵向通道，与淋巴毛细血管明显不同。肥大细胞、巨噬细胞和细胞外囊泡（如外泌体和 exosomes）分布在 TMC 内的间质细胞（TCs）及其长突起（Telopodes，Tps）周围。TCs 之间形成细胞连接，可实现相邻但远距离 Tps 之间的通讯。另一方面，在 TMC 内还发现了没有细胞连接的蜿蜒的游离 Tps。TMC 内的组织液、TCs 的细胞连接、肥大细胞、巨噬细胞和细胞外囊泡与经络管道中循环的“气-血”（即信息、消息和能量）在细胞学水平上相对应。这些结果可为“经络是气-血循环的通道”这一假说提供形态学证据。
