A Manual of Acupuncture

Posted in category: Acupuncture at: May 25, 2011 by admin

A Manual of Acupuncture, The point location information is accurate, albeit in a few cases too brief, in my opinion. There are charts which show major points per anatomical region (which are actually legible and understandable), and indexes aplenty: pinyin and chinese point names, english point names, and a particularly interesting point indications index. There is a companion set of Point cards by the same authors, which uses the same illustrations and a summary of point information based on the contents of the book.

The book is essentially a description of each and every one of the 360 or so primary acupuncture points of Traditional Chinese Medicine. There is a good bit of material about methodology of point selection, but the real gem of this book is the intelligent and thorough descriptions of the points, their properties, and how to locate and needle them. First, it will it help them learn the English vocabulary of acupuncture jargon and help them understand our butchered pronunciations of the many Chinese words in an English acupuncturist’s vocabulary.

Once in a great while an extraordinary book is published that sets an entirely new standard in its field. A Manual of Acupuncture, published by Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications, is just such a book. Painstakingly researched over many years by Peter Deadman, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Chinese Medicine, and colleagues Mazin Al-Khafaji and Kevin Baker, this book has become the primary reference in the West for the study of acupuncture points and channels. With the subtle use of color to illustrate the acupuncture points and anatomical features, the new second edition of A Manual of Acupuncture is even more attractive and user-friendly than the first. Introductory chapters describe and illustrate the channels and collaterals, the various categories of points, and methods of selection, location, and needling. Ensuing chapters present each of the points of the 14 channels as well as the extra (miscellaneous) points, identified by their English and pinyin names, and Chinese characters. Each point is located in accordance with the most exacting anatomical standards to be found in any Western textbook. For each point there is a dedicated drawing, followed by regional body drawings. The quality of the 500 drawings is far superior to those in any other TCM text. There are also practical pointers for finding and needling the points, and cautionary information about what to avoid. In addition to point indexes by their English and pinyin names, there is an index identifying every part of the body reached by each of the channels, and separate indexes of point indications listed according to both TCM and biomedical symptoms.