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. 2023 Apr 19:14:1051190.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1051190. eCollection 2023.

Specificity for the correlation between the body surface and viscera in the pathological state of COPD: A prospective, controlled, and assessor-blinded trial

Yongliang Jiang  1 , Hantong Hu  1   2 , Xiaofen He  1 , Xiaoyu Li  1 , Yajun Zhang  1 , Jiali Lou  1 , Yuanyuan Wu  1   2 , Junfan Fang  1 , Xiaomei Shao  1 , Jianqiao Fang  1
Affiliations

Specificity for the correlation between the body surface and viscera in the pathological state of COPD: A prospective, controlled, and assessor-blinded trial

Yongliang Jiang et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Background: The association between the body surface and viscera remains obscure, but a better understanding of the body surface-viscera correlation will maximize its diagnostic and therapeutic values in clinical practice. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the specificity of body surface-viscera correlation in the pathological state. Methods: The study subjects included 40 participants with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the COPD group and 40 age-matched healthy participants in the healthy control group. Laser Doppler flowmetry, infrared thermography, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy were respectively adopted to measure 1) the perfusion unit (PU), 2) temperature, and 3) regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) of four specific sites distributed in the heart and lung meridians. These three outcome measures reflected the microcirculatory, thermal, and metabolic characteristics, respectively. Results: Regarding the microcirculatory and thermal characteristics of the body surface, the PU and temperature of specific sites on the body surface [i.e., Taiyuan (LU9) and Chize (LU5) in the lung meridian] in the COPD group were significantly increased compared with healthy controls (p < 0.05), whereas PU and temperature of other sites in the heart meridian [i.e., Shenmen (HT7) and Shaohai (HT3)] did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Regarding the metabolic characteristics, rSO2 of specific sites in the lung meridian [i.e., Taiyuan (LU9) and Chize (LU5)] and Shaohai (HT3) of the heart meridian in the COPD group was significantly decreased compared with healthy controls (p < 0.01), whereas rSO2 of Shenmen (HT7) in the heart meridian did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Conclusion: In the disease state of COPD, the microcirculatory, thermal, and metabolic characteristics of specific sites on the body surface in the lung meridian generally manifest more significant changes than those in the heart meridian, thereby supporting relative specificity for the body surface-viscera correlation in the pathological state.

Keywords: acupuncture; comparative study; infrared thermography; site specificity; skin physiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The schematic diagram for four measurement sites on the body surface.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The distribution path of the heart and lung meridian on the body surface. (A) The lung meridian; (B) the heart meridian. The Arabic number represents the number of the corresponding acupoint on the meridian in sequence.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The schematic of the experiment. (A) LDF detection; (B) IRT detection; (C) fNIRS detection.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Comparison of PU on specific acupoints of heart and lung meridians between two groups. **p < 0.01 compared with the healthy control group.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Typical infrared thermal images of typical subjects. (A) Healthy control group; (B) COPD group.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Comparison of mean temperature on specific sites of heart and lung meridians between two groups. **p < 0.01 and *p < 0.05 compared with the healthy control group.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Comparison of rSO2 on specific acupoints of heart and lung meridians between the two groups. **p < 0.01 compared with the healthy control group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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