Acupuncture is a technique in Chinese medicine that is used to heal a patient. Small needles are inserted into the body at specific points on meridians in the body. The meridian theory lays out twelve main meridians that are associated with the twelve major organs of the body, and eight extra channels that mainly use the organ points to forms their own channels. Acupuncture is a very important section of Chinese medicine. The techniques of acupuncture have been evolving over centuries, and the roots are so old that it pre-dates any written records. Some of the oldest needles ever found have been composed of stone. These sets of tools for acupuncture had purposes of penetrating the skin to enter the meridians and puncturing the skin for the release of blood.

The abilities of the meridians of the body to flow uninhibited, keep the body healthy. Chinese medicine believes that a person needs the flow of energy to nurture the body and the mind. A person interacts with their environment, and needs to be able to deal with exogenous pathogens. Likewise, a person needs to be able to resolve endogenous pathogens that the body creates. If these pathogens are small in nature then the body will handle them and the only side effect is that optimal performance will not be able to occur. If these pathogens are severe then sickness will surface. Acupuncture is used to diagnose the problem and modify the performance of the person’s body to heal itself. The treatment will clear the interruption of yin-yang by placing needles along the appropriate meridian.