WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT FUNCTION OF THE MERIDIAN

In TCM， the meridian is believed to be the basis of the physiological activities of the body． It has four main functions．

l） Being the passageway of QI and the blood which moisten and nourish Zang--Fu organs and tissues． Inside the meridian circulate QI and the blood， which warm， moisten and nourish Zang--Fu organs and tissues． It is through the meridian that energy and nutrients are supplied so that Zang--Fu organs and tissues can perform their functions normally

2） Connecting the exterior and the superior of the body with the interior and the inferior and linking Zang--Fu and other organs． The body consists of 5 Zang organs， 6 Fuorgans， 4 limbs hundreds of bones， 5 sense organ, 9 orifices as well as the skin, muscles，tendon, blood vessels and so on． The meridian is distributed longitudinally and laterally throughout the body and goes inwards， outwards， upwards and downwards． It links Zang--Fu，tissues and other organs together as an integral organic whole ,just like a network of roads and waterways that links all the cities， towns and villages of a country together

3） Responding to stimulation and conducting sensations． The responding and conducting function or the meridian refers to the response of the meridian System to various stimulation and the transmission and conduction of the sensations along meridians．When an acupuncture point is punctured with a needle, the patient may experience a Sensation of Sourness, numbness, heaviness or distension called DeQi （arriving of Qi or geting Qi).Acupuncture at Zusanli(St.36)may cause a sensation of sourness and distension to spread to the dorsal part of the foot--a phenomenon termed Xingqi（movingof Qi）． Both Deqi and Xingqi are the manifestation of the responding and conducting function of the meridian， which is very important in regulating Zang--Fu activities to treat diseases． The importance of this function is generalized by a saying--“the disease goes away as soon as QI arrives．”

4）Regulating the balance of the body functions． The meridian can move QI and the blood and harmonize Yin and Yang， thus keeping the functional activities of the body in a state of relative balance． When QI and the blood become disharmonious or when Yin or Yang become too strong or too weak， the disease occurs． In such a case，acupuncture or other treatments can be applied to reduce the excess or reinforce the deficiency, resulting in the regulating effect on the functions of the involved Zang--Fu organs or tissues---hyper-function or hypo-function is corrected.