Possible Applications for Fascial Anatomy and
Fasciaology in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Abstract
Research using medical imaging instruments such as computed tomography and
magnetic resonance imaging has led to the proposal that the fascial network distributed
over the human body is the anatomical basis for the acupoints and meridians
of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, we put forward a new theory of
anatomy called fascial anatomy. In fascial anatomy, a human body is divided into
two major systems. One is the supporting-storing system of unspecialized connective
tissues. The other is a functional system. An undifferentiated non-specific
connective tissue network, with the participation of the nervous and the immune
systems, constitutes the supporting-storing system of the human body. The various
differentiated functional cells in the body that are supported and surrounded
by the supporting-storing system constitute the functional system. The discipline
that studies the supporting-storing system and the mutual relationship between
this system and the functional system in a living human body is called fasciaology.
The establishment of fascial anatomy and fasciaology opens a new research field in
anatomy; consequently, fasciaology will play a significant role in biological medicine
and traditional Chinese medical research, as well as future clinical practice.