WHO Standard Acupuncture Point LocationsAcupuncture Nomenclature’ (second edition) (3) was published in 1993. This includes the standardized name of each classical point, a brief

Advance Access Publication 8 February 2009 eCAM 2010;7(2)167–168doi:10.1093/ecam/nep006

Commentary

WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations

Sabina Lim1,2,3

1Division of Acupuncture & Meridian, WHO Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine, East-West MedicalResearch Institute, 2Department of Applied Eastern Medicine, Graduate School and 3Department of Meridian andAcupuncture, Graduate School of Basic Eastern Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea

‘WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region (WHO Standard)was released in 2008. Initially, there were 92/361 controversial acupuncture points (acupoints).Through seven informal consultations and four task force team meetings, 86 points were agreedupon among the 92 controversial acupoints, leaving 6 remaining controversial acupoints,demanding active research in the future. This will enhance the reproducibility and validity ofacupuncture studies. It will also lead to a better understanding of acupuncture mechanisms inorder to optimize its clinical efficacy for a range of diseases and syndromes. This book has twoparts: General Guidelines for Acupuncture Point Locations and WHO Standard AcupuncturePoint Locations. First of all, familiarity with the General Guidelines for Acupuncture PointLocations in this book can help the reader to understand and use the contents of this book indepth. I would like to thank all of the participating experts and scholars for this great work,who have overcome the limits of previous acupuncture references. I also appreciate thededicated effort and harmonious leadership of Dr Choi Seung-hoon, former Regional Adviserin Traditional Medicine of Western Pacific Office, WHO.

Keywords: acupoint – eastern medicine – traditional medicine

As acupuncture therapy has become an importantcomponent of Complementary and Alternative Medicinethroughout the world, there have been many efforts tobring scientific rigor in understanding the mechanismsbehind and evidence-based efficacy of acupuncturetherapy. While there is extensive literature on acupunc-ture in scientific journals of high standard, the disciplinestill suffers from a lack of verifiable standards andsystematic methodology for reproducing and validatingindividual studies. An examination of the literature showsthat the locations of acupoints and the particularmethods of acupuncture stimulation are diverse amongindividual research reports. These problems lead to

ambiguity in conclusions for any meta-analysis andresult from the lack of a common protocol onacupuncture-related studies. Thus, there has been aneed to standardize acupuncture point (acupoint) loca-tions so as to form a consensus on research methods.In October 2003, the first Informal Consultation on the

Development of WHO Standard of Acupuncture PointLocations was convened. As each Member State has itsown initiatives and traditions, in the beginning it seemedalmost impossible to establish international standardiza-tion. Fortunately, through seven informal consultationsand four task force team meetings, the experts reacheda consensus on many points. In the end, 86 of the92 controversial points (among 361 total acupoints) werestandardized.This standardization will enhance the reliability and

reproducibility of acupuncture studies, which in turn willlead to a better understanding of acupuncture’s mecha-nisms so as to ultimately optimize its clinical efficacy fora range of diseases and syndromes. Now a number of

For reprints and all correspondence: Sabina Lim, MD, PhD, ProfessorDepartment of Applied Eastern Medicine, Graduate School, KyungHee University, #47 Gyeonghuidae-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 130-701, Korea. Tel: 82-2-961-0324; Fax: 82-2-961-7831;E-mail: [email protected]

� The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]

acupuncture-related journals will make it clear in theirinstructions that papers must follow this WHO StandardAcupuncture Point Locations in the Western PacificRegion (WHO Standard) (1). Therefore, researchersand practitioners are encouraged to utilize the WHOStandard to ease the review process of each journal andinstitutional review boards (IRB).First of all, familiarity with the General Guidelines for

Acupuncture Point Locations in this book can help thereader to understand and use the contents of this bookin depth. These guidelines include essential terms anddefinitions, which provide a very solid and clear overviewof the book. For acupoint locations, a vertical andhorizontal coordinate method is adopted as often aspossible and employs modern anatomical terms consis-tently, which helps the reader to select, find and use theexact points. In addition, the anatomical landmarkmethod is used to provide absolute and accurate standardsfor locating acupoints. When it comes to cun, the standardmeasuring unit, this book adopts the idea of separatingB-cun (Proportional bone cun) from F-cun (Finger cun)which helps in the finding and measurement of more exactlocations (2). The illustrations are quite simple, but veryclear and accurate and some amplified drawings areincluded for more exact information. The ‘Notes’ sectionoffers supplementary explanations on key points, such asan acupoint’s relationship with adjacent acupoints so thatreaders can understand their correlations and observe thedifferences among different individuals. Despite the factthat 355 points were successfully standardized, there stillremain six controversial acupoints, which are describedas alternative acupoint locations under ‘Remarks’ andremain an active research area in the future.Now, based on these WHO Standard, acupuncture

researchers are able to conduct their studies and alsoshare more active and accurate scientific communicationsin traditional medicine. With global standards andinternational competitiveness, it will definitely help tosolve ambiguity in conclusions for any meta-analysis andestablish a common protocol in acupoint locations. In thenear future, I believe we can expect more evidence-basedclinical efficacy for acupuncture therapy and makeEastern medicine more accessible and valuable inhuman health care.

The success of this collaboration is attributed to all theexperts and scholars especially from China, Japan andKorea, who have finally agreed to reach a consensusdespite all the different traditions and backgrounds theyhave. Once again, I would like to thank all the partic-ipants for another great accomplishment, which haspaved the way for a new era of acupuncture study andtherapy. I also appreciate the dedicated efforts andharmonious leadership of Dr Choi Seung-hoon, formerRegional Adviser (2003–08) in Traditional Medicine ofWestern Pacific Office, WHO. Traditional medicine inEast Asia has been divided by regional groups, such asTCM (traditional Chinese medicine), Kampo medicine(Japan), TKM (traditional Korean medicine), etc.However, Dr Choi’s enthusiasm for traditional medicineand insight into the future helped to integrate all of thesegroups and develop Eastern medicine.Another guide book on acupoints called ‘Standard

Acupuncture Nomenclature’ (second edition) (3) waspublished in 1993. This includes the standardized nameof each classical point, a brief explanation of the nameof the point and a multilingual comparative list ofthe names of the point (http://www.wpro.who.int/publications/pub_9290611057.htm). In 2007, ‘WHOInternational Standard Terminologies on TraditionalMedicine in the Western Pacific Region’ (4), whichcontributes to standardization and globalization oftraditional medicine, was published and it is still freelyaccessible on the WHO Website. (http://www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/14B298C6-518D-4C00-BE02-FC31EADE3791/0/WHOIST_26JUNE_FINAL.pdf).

References1. WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. WHO Standard

Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region. Manila:World Health Organization, 2008.

2. Yin CS, Park HJ, Seo JC, Lim S, Koh HG. Evaluation of the cunmeasurement system of acupuncture point location. Am J Chin Med2005;33:729–35.

3. WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. StandardizedNomenclature for Acupuncture. Manila: World HealthOrganization, 1993.

4. WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. WHO InternationalStandard Terminologies on Traditional Medicine in the WesternPacific Region. Manila: World Health Organization, 2007.

Received December 10, 2008; accepted January 12, 2009

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WHO Standard Acupuncture Point LocationsAcupuncture Nomenclature’ (second edition) (3) was published in 1993. This includes the standardized name of each classical point, a brief