The Chinese medical system grows out of many hundreds of years and millions of Chinese medical practitioners’ observations and refinements of understanding the human system, its physical structure, its functional abilities, the links between emotional activity, thought, aspirations, and the wider environment.

From this study arises the concept of channels of energy, or influence that spread out through the body, and are associated with different aspects or functions of the body. Practitioners have then found that stimulating points along these channels can influence aspects of the functioning human being to help correct problems or improve the working of the digestion or menstrual cycle for example. In bio-medical scientific terms, this can be seen as related to the system of nerves that runs through the body, and also the endocrine or hormonal system.