| Abstrakt: |
This article highlights the urgent need of the acupuncture profession for a unifying evidence-based medical model. Modern acupuncture models, which are the product of a century of abstract reworkings of Han dynasty medical concepts, are supported by neither historical nor biomedical evidence. Researchers have addressed the abstract and extrascientific nature of these models by exploring anatomical and physiological correlatives. However, no scientifically updated model has been universally adopted by the acupuncture community. Given this context, this article traces the origins of problematic modern acupuncture constructs; emphasizes the crucial role of accurately identifying mechanisms of action in clarifying the existing paradigm; and argues how a biological paradigm provides the empirical support lacking in other models, and thus, adequately fulfills the need for a comprehensive evidence-based theory for acupuncture practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
