• Fang Li, Tian He, Qian Xu, Li-Ting Lin, Hui Li, Yan Liu, Guang-Xia Shi, and Cun-Zhi Liu.
• Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, 23 Meishuguanhou Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100010, China.
• Pain Med. 2015 Oct 1; 16 (10): 1905-15.

BackgroundAccording to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, acupoints are specifically chosen sites of acupuncture manipulation, and also the basis for studying the mechanism of acupuncture. Stimulating different acupoints on the body surface could provide various therapeutic benefits. However, what is the acupoint? This question is not clear.Review SummaryWe focuse on examining the function of acupoints from different perspectives, including the local and the systemic effects of stimulating acupoints. For example, acupoints may release certain substances or incur some changes, which could adjust the function of organs, maintain homeostasis. Furthermore, the therapeutic effects of verum acupoints versus sham acupoints were discussed. However, due to insufficience in evidence and in current methodologies, research into mechanisms of acupuncture is still incomplete.ConclusionThis review might explain, to some extent, what an acupoint is. Further research into the identity of acupoints is warranted, and multidisciplinary methods using novel technologies may yield significant advances over existing knowledge.Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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