[Thoughts on the descriptions of acupoint indications in contemporary teaching materials: can Tianfu (LU3) treat shoulder-arm pain?].

Focusing on the problems of simple listing and difficulty in grasping the acupoint indications and actions in contemporary teaching materials, Acupuncture and Moxibustion, this paper takes Tianfu (LU3) as an example to sort out and compare the indications and actions of acupoints between important classical texts on acupuncture and moxibustion throughout the ages and contemporary teaching materials, so as to rethink profoundly the theoretical basis of the indications and actions of acupoints and explore the optimal expression norms. It is found that there is a significant distinction in acupoint indications and actions between the ancient and the modern: some recorded in the ancient classics are missing in the contemporary teaching materials, while some described in contemporary teaching materials are absent in evidence from the ancient and modern literature or clinical practice. These objective phenomena remind us that, it is very necessary to conduct a rigorous and systematic review of the traditional theories on acupoint indications and actions to return to the original and clarify the root; and the theoretical refinement should be highly improved, rather than simply listing the indications and actions, so that the descriptions of acupoint indications can be more conducive to grasping the theoretical principles and guiding clinical practice.