[The ancient clinical application of umbilical therapy for retention of urine].

By collecting relevant ancient literature, with retention of urine, umbilical therapy and Shenque (CV 8) as key words, various umbilical therapies for retention of urine from the Song dynasty to Qing dynasty were retrieved and summarized. The results indicated rich knowledge of umbilical therapy was recorded in ancient literature (the Song dynasty to the Qing dynasty), including 9 kinds of therapies e.g. sticking umbilical method, ironing umbilical method, pasting umbilical method, smearing umbilical method, filling umbilical method, sealing umbilical method, covering umbilical method, dripping umbilical method and bundling umbilical method. Moreover, the detailed methods were briefly explained. It is hoped to provide reference for modern application of umbilical therapy for retention of urine.