[Research progress on the rules of meridian phenomenon and the mechanism in gastrointestinal diseases].

The meridian theory refers to the understanding of the physiological functions of the human body and the pathological changes of zangfu organs, as well as the different specific represenatation phenomena under the pathological conditions and their interrelationship with the body surface representation and the meridian points. It is of great scientific significance to explore the development of acupuncture based on the meridian theory. This article summarizes the different specific representation phenomena of gastrointestinal diseases on the body surface and the rules. It proposes that the inflammatory responses in zangfu organs may trigger the sensory regeneration and remodeling. These signals travel from the dorsal root ganglia to the brain and spinal cord, and then affect the local immunity, blood vessel function and other aspects at acupuncture locations through sympathetic outflow. It is anticipated that the above summary may provide the further insights for the interconnections between the meridian system and zangfu diseases, the regulatory pathways, and the biological mechanisms .