ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2021
In Vivo Visualization of the Pericardium Meridian with Fluorescent Dyes.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- What's the science behind acupuncture?Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Acupuncture and Acupressure for Cancer Symptom Management: an Opinion Statement Based on Preliminary Evidence Mapping.Current treatment options in oncology · 2026Review
- Photoacoustic imaging of acupoint specificity and meridian transmission at Shousanli (LI10): a blood oxygen metabolism study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- The role of acupuncture as a complementary therapy for sepsis: a narrative review of the evidence and future trial directions.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Proteomic Study Between Interstitial Channels Along Meridians and Adjacent Areas in Mini-Pigs.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- The Science of Tai Chi andJournal of integrative and complementary medicine · 2025Review
- Acupoints in Acupuncture Research: Past, Present, and Future.Medical acupuncture · 2025Article
- Portable devices for periodic monitoring of bioelectrical impedance along meridian pathways in healthy individuals.Biomedical engineering online · 2025Article
- Stimuli-induced NOergic Molecules and Neuropeptides Mediated Axon Reflexes Contribute to Tracers along Meridian Pathways.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- Objectivization study of acupunctureFrontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Mitochondria as the Essence of Yang Qi in the Human Body.Phenomics (Cham, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Key Components of Qigong for People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Survey of Clinicians, Researchers, and Instructors.Global advances in integrative medicine and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The anatomical basis of acupuncture meridians continues to be enigmatic. Although much attention has been placed on potential correlations with inter/intramuscular fascia or lower electrical impedance, animal studies performed in the past 40 years have shown that tracer dyes-specifically Tc-99m pertechnetate-injected at strategic skin points generate linear migrations closely aligning with acupuncture meridians. To evaluate whether this phenomenon is also observable in humans, we injected two fluorescent dyes-fluorescein sodium and indocyanine green (ICG)-into the dermal layer both at acupuncture points (PC5, PC6, and PC7) and a nonacupoint control. Fifteen healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. Of the 19 trials of fluorescein injected at PC6, 15 (79%) were associated with slow diffusion of the dye proximally along a path matching closely with the pericardium meridian. Furthermore, the dye emerged and coalesced proximally at exactly acupoint PC3. Injections of ICG at the acupoints PC5, PC6, or PC7 showed a similar trajectory close to the injection site but diverged when migrating proximally, failing converge on acupoint PC3. Injections of either dye at an adjacent PC6-control did not generate any notable linear pathway. Both ultrasound imaging and vein-locating device did not reveal any corresponding vessels (arterial or venous) at the visualized tracer pathway but did demonstrate correlations with intermuscular fascia.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.