Figure 6
From: Acupuncture points can be identified as cutaneous neurogenic inflammatory spots
Convergence of afferents from neurogenic spots and the heart on DRGs. (A–C) When two different retrograde tracers, FG (yellow) and DiI (red), were injected at heart and neurogenic spots, respectively, DiI + FG-double labelled cells (orange) were found in C6-T3 DRG neurons. (D) A diagrammatic representation of the proposed hypothesis that neurogenic inflammatory spots are identical to traditional acupoints associated with internal organs. Visceral nociceptive signals produce neurogenic inflammatory spots, caused by the local release of the neuropeptides CGRP and SP from small diameter afferents. The neuropeptides in the skin cause mechanical hypersensitivity and plasma extravasation, yielding high electrical conductance. The activation of small fibres in neurogenic spots can produce needling (Deqi) sensations and therapeutic effects on the associated visceral organs via the endogenous opioid system. Neurogenic spots on the skin are linked to the internal organs. The features of neurogenic spots overlap with those of acupoints. Left panel: an example chart of heart-associated meridian and acupoints in humans.
