What is the difference between nerves and meridians?

The structure of the human nervous system is very complex and plays a very important role in regulating human life activities. Once certain diseases occur in the human nervous system, the corresponding regulatory functions will be impaired, and then various symptoms will be caused, such as impaired activity functions. In life, people often have meridian blockages, which can cause symptoms such as pain. What is the difference between meridians and nerves?

What is the difference between nerves and meridians?

1. What is the difference between nerves and meridians?

1.1. The conduction speeds of meridians and nerves are different. You know, the conduction speed of nerves is 100 meters per second. As for the meridians, they only move a few to a dozen centimeters per second. People who frequently receive acupuncture know that there are two types of conductive needle sensations during acupuncture. One is fast, like lightning, and this type of needle sensation occurs when the needle tip pierces the nerve trunk. The other is slow, and this needle sensation occurs when the meridian is pierced.

1.2. The routes of meridian and nerve conduction are different, and the distribution of meridians in the human body is also different from that of nerves.

1.3. The directions of meridian and nerve conduction are different. Nerves conduct electricity in one direction, while meridians conduct electricity in two directions.

1.4. The blockability of meridians and nerves is different. The so-called blockability means that the conductive sensation can be affected by a certain factor and stop moving forward. For example, if you add a weight of 300 to 500 grams per square centimeter along the meridian line, the transmission of sensation along the meridian will stop, but the feeling of pain will not stop. For example, if you apply an ice bag on the meridian line to cool down the body locally, when the tissue temperature under the ice bag drops to about 22℃, the meridian sensation transmission will be blocked, while the peripheral nerve conduction will be blocked at about 10℃, a difference of 12℃. All these show that meridians are not nerves.

2. The connection between nerves and meridians

The connection between the meridian system and the nervous system from ancient documents: the meridians and the brain have a direct anatomical connection. For example, the Du meridian "starts from the inner canthus of the eye with the Taiyang meridian, goes up to the forehead and intersects the top of the head, goes up to connect with the brain, and then exits from the lower neck", "starts from the lower extreme point, and along the spine, goes up to the Fengfu, and enters the brain." Another example is the bladder meridian, "starts from the inner canthus of the eye, goes up to the forehead and intersects the top of the head, and its branch goes from the top of the head to the upper corner of the ear. The straight branch goes from the top of the head to connect with the brain, and then exits from the lower neck." "Lingshu. There is a passage in "Dahuo Lun" about the visual organ: "The nest of essence is the eye, the essence of bone is the pupil, the essence of tendon is the black eye, the essence of blood is the network, the essence of qi in its nest is the white eye, the essence of muscle is the restraint, it wraps up the essence of tendon, bone, blood and qi and forms a system with the veins, it goes up to the brain and comes out from the neck." The structure connected to the brain may be a description of the optic nerve, perhaps an example of a nerve that was close to discovery in the era of "Nei Jing".

3. The concept of the nervous system

The nervous system is the dominant system in the body. Various information from the internal and external environment is received by the receptors, transmitted to the centers at all levels of the brain and spinal cord through the peripheral nerves for integration, and then controlled and regulated by the peripheral nerves to maintain the relative balance between the body and the internal and external environment. The functions of all organs and systems in the human body are directly or indirectly under the regulation and control of the nervous system. The nervous system is the dominant regulatory system within the body. The human body is a complex organism. The functions of various organs and systems are not isolated. They are interconnected and mutually restricted. At the same time, the human body lives in a constantly changing environment, and changes in the environment affect various functions in the body at any time. This requires continuous, rapid and perfect adjustment of various functions in the body so that the body can adapt to changes in the internal and external environment. The system that realizes this regulatory function is mainly the nervous system.