Biophotons & Acupunture Meridians
The meridias system is like a highway for biophotonic transit

Meridians and acupuncture points system is very probably grounded on two physical known networks, one the connective tissue and the other the more recent discovered primo-vascular system, both connected form a continuum where light in the form of biophotonic emissions can reach every organ in bodies to exert non-local and almost instantaneous information transfer. ...

Acupuncture is today widely used, with innumerable experimental papers that presents its efficacy, medical studies, treatments in hospitals, etc... for a very large "list" of health disruption causes, or for symptoms like pain. A simple search in google scholar can return hundred or thousands of results, it is not the purpose of this introductory text review this effectiveness, but are reviewed theories and experimental findings about the physical substrate, for meridians and acupoints, that causes this to work and especially in its relation with electromagnetic and biophotonic endogenous emissions.

The physical substrate for the meridian system is today widely accepted today to be the primo-vascular system [1][2] (also termed "Bonghan system") and the connective tissue made by collagen [3][4][5][6] as we will see, in this sense we will focus first in the theoretical background and later we will see some of the experimental proofs.

As is described in [1] the primo-vascular system is composed of two types of entities, primo nodes, also termed “Bongham corpuscles”, and primo vessels, also termed “Bongham ducts” that have been associated to the acupuncture points and meridians respectively and their physical existence has been being confirmed by different techniques in recent years. They form a network, the primo-vascular system, different from the nervous, cardiovascular or lymphatic system, that is distributed deep inside the body all over the surface of major organs, even it has been found inside blood and lymphatic vessels.

Its known that the primo nodes for the organs, that are constituted by sub vessels and various cells, are connected to all meridians. The meridian structures start and end at the primo nodes for the organs [7], that is he primo-vascular system is an anatomical structure that correspond to the acupuncture meridians.

One of the initial clues, we will see more, that points toward a biophoton transmission in the ducts, the primo vessels, is that there DNA granules exists, whose function is unknown, and as it is postulated that if DNA play a role in biophotonic retransmission (that is, if there are taken into consideration the F.A. Popp experiments where DNA conformation alterations altered biophotonic emissions from cells [8]), then is possible to postulate that Bonghan ducts (so meridians) can act as optical channels for biophotons. This is well described in [2]:

" Non‐coding DNA may act as a photon store and a coherent radiator, because of its enormous polymer size and its ability to form exciplexes. ... The biophysical model for inter‐and intra‐cellular communication developed by Nagl and Popp [32] postulated that the biophoton is trapped and emitted by a cellular physical resonance device, namely DNA, which results in biophoton emissions with a high degree of coherence (Figure 9) [23]."

" To explain biologically this postulation regarding DNA and biophotons, we still need a network or channel. Bonghan’s theory is similar to a channel and is just the answer. It provides the channels with the DNA granules running inside, and the channels are spread all over the body, linking the internal organs to the acupuncture points in the skin (Figure 10) [23]."

In general in those papers what is underlying is that traditional "Qi" concept is equivalent to the modern bioelectromagnetism/biophoton related phenomenon, even there are various papers that directly work with this comparison and and prop it up [2][9][10][11], in [2] it can be read:

" Morphological science is greatly challenged to offer a new biomedical theory that explains the possible existence of new bodily systems such as the primo vascular system (PVS). The PVS is a previously unknown system that integrates the features of the cardiovascular, nervous, immune, and hormonal systems. It also provides a physical substrate for the acupuncture points and meridians. Announcements of the morphological architectonics and the function of the PVS fundamentally changed the basic understanding of biology and medicine because the PVS is involved in the development and the functions of living organisms. We propose a new vision of the anatomical basis for the PVS and the vital energy—called “Qi”—as an electromagnetic wave that is involved very closely with the DNA in the PVS. DNA provides genetic information and it functions as a store of information that can be obtained from the electromagnetic fields of the environment. The PVS is the communication system between living organisms and the environment, and it lies at the lowest level of life."

In respect to the primo nodes, the other entity of the primo-vascular system, there are of two kind of them: the superficial ones that correspond to the acupuncture points and the other the internals that are connected to the different organs, in relation to them in [12] it can be read:

" The function of corpuscles is not clear. The corpuscle may serve as a structure that collects the electromagnetic signals of the tissues from organs and transfers them to the duct for transmission to the brain. They may also fulfill a role as electromagnetic resonators. The corpuscle may amplify the collected and transferred signals (microtubules in a cell could amplify electromagnetic signals [60])."

Or in [6]:

" So far, the hypothesis is formulated [50] that the acupuncture points can be considered as electromagnetic waves receptors, perceiving them for further transport to various organs and tissues through the meridians that are the best conductors of electromagnetic waves in comparison with the surrounding tissues. Subsequent studies confirmed the possibility of non-contact conduct of the electromagnetic waves of microwave and visible ranges of the acupuncture points to the different levels of the central nervous system [13, 24, 48, 53, 65, 67, 74]."

All the primo-vascular system is connected to the connective tissue that curiously also has a very good optical properties [4], in [3] can be read:

" Anatomic, cellular and molecular studies reveal the enormity and pervasiveness of [the connective tissue] from the highly structured, strong and dense fascia, via the Bonghan ducts and connections to skin and internal organs to the fine-structured extracellular matrix surrounding individual cells. ...The liquid crystalline state of highly structured extracellular collagen as well as cellular components, e.g., DNA, are discussed in relation to biophoton emission properties of the system."

So both can belong to the same system [5], again in [3]:

" In conclusion, we note that basic research in the 200 year-old basic bioregulatory system (in German: Grundsystem) includes nowadays the anatomy, cell biology and molecular biology of the fine-structure of (a) connective tissue in fascia, (b) recently discovered Bonghan ducts, and (c) the extracellular matrix around organ cells. This system can be considered anatomically as well as physiologica1ly as an entire system. The anatomy of the system corresponds in many respects with the acupuncture system. Structural and electrical properties of acupuncture points and meridians can be more easily understood utilizing the presented system."

Being the function of all of this [12]:

" The ducts and corpuscles might fulfill a function of optical channels with dielectric walls operating from far infrared to visible wavebands, that is, in the frequency range 1013–1014 Hz. Different electromagnetic modes might be utilized for signal transfer; the bandwidth of the transmitted signals may be large. Therefore, the meridian system may provide transfer of a sufficiently wide spectrum of electromagnetic signals from the organs to the brain and vice versa. The transferred signals may coordinate processes in the whole body and provide functional harmony."

This in respect to the theoretical background, now it is to be presented some experimental finding on meridians. Here two kind of experiments are presented those that use thermal camera and those that collect photons though a photomultiplier.

In the first group we have for example [13][14] and [15], this last belong also to the second group as both types of experiments are realized, so in the second group we have [16][17] or as has been mentioned [15].

For example in [15] the first of the experiments is realized to visualize acupuncture meridians using infrared thermal imaging technique in subjects at different day times, and it has been found evidence that human meridians are a source of infrared radiation, so their silhouette can be seen in the images.

An alternative experiment that also use infrared thermal imaging technique to detect meridians, but in this case provoking a heating in related acupuncture points, can be found in [13].

The other experiment of [15] is to measure optical transport properties of light propagating along the meridians compared to non meridian trajectories of light, for this they project laser in acupuncture points of the pericardium meridian and in other non acupuncture points, and compare the relative attenuation rates of light propagating along the pericardium meridian and non-meridian directions at the same distance by putting a detector (connected to a photomultiplier) in different related acupuncture meridian points or in non related points.

They found that the light attenuation is lower along the meridian direction than in the non-meridian direction, this confirms a previous study of the same authors [16] that use other acupuncture point but that has similar experimental setup.

Other kind of experiment are also available for example in [18] the authors use chemiluminescent and fluorescent hydrophilic, hydrophobic and amphyphilic molecular probes to enhance the biophotonic emissions, to be able detect them more clearly by the ultra-sensitive CCD camera, and they have been found that:

" ...the electrostimulation of the JG4 acupuncture active point give weaker biophoton emission (1805 photons/mm2s) than the stimulation of the neighboring non active areas (2744 photons/mm2s). It looks as if light -producing processes are channeled within acupuncture active points and less light is produced or transmitted outside. There is also a difference in the time decay of photon emission."

In the light of a recent discovery of the primo vascular system in the brains of rabbits (floating in the cerebrospinal fluid), that also run along the central canal of the spinal cord, in [19] is also revised the idea of a long-range optical communication through the biophotonic transmission along those anatomical structures, and the possible application of the knowledge present and future in the laser-needle acupuncture technique.

Finally I want to address two other studies not listed here (but there are listed in other sections of the web) that analyze the electromagnetic interaction of the meridian system with other two systems, the first with one that pertain to body, the heart's electromagnetic field [20]:

" We hypothesize that the heart’s electromagnetic signals are distributed throughout the body via the network of acupuncture meridians, similar to the manner in which the heart propels blood throughout the body via blood vessels. The heart’s electrogmagnetic system governs the structure and organization of tissues, as well as the potential – and thus the activity – of all the body’s cells, including immune cells. This method of communication is implied in the control of cell proliferation, and its failure in a bodily organ contributes to the cancer process.

Our aim was to determine whether we could monitor the electromagnetic activity in acupuncture points (back SHU points) and record this activity with electrocardiogram or electroencephalogram. In our preliminary trial, we succeeded in recording this electromagnetic activity using electrogram to record activity in back SHU acupuncture points (also known as Associated Points, or Paravertebral Reflex points), but not in an inactive neighboring area (control or “sham” points). We found that the wave shape of electromagnetic activity recorded at SHU points was different in the presence of pathological conditions in a given internal organ, while it remained constant in SHU points representing healthy organs."

And the other study the interaction with external influences as earth's Schumann waves [21]. In relation to both influences it must be said that in [22] Schumann resonance waves were detected in the heart acupuncture meridian:

" Table 1 shows this entrainment at the heart acupuncture meridian (He9). The endogenous frequencies were 7.768 Hz and 382 MHz. It should be noted that the 7.8 Hz endogenous frequency of the acupuncture point He9 (also the heart chakra) is exactly 6-times the heart-beat requency 78/min; it is also one of the frequency bands in the Schumann radiation from the upper atmosphere."

References:

Very related sections:

Endogenous Fields & Mind
Biophotons & Acupunture Meridians