Work

The Medial Surface of the Auricle: Historical and Recent Maps. What Are the Possible Expectations of the “Thumb-Index Technique”

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: The medial surface of the auricle (MSotA), as compared to the lateral, has been less studied and has limited consensus among schools of auricular acupuncture (AA) due to its small size, greater difficulty in carrying out an adequate physical examination on it, and less precise and limited agreement on its anatomical references as compared to the lateral surface. The thumb-index technique TIT is performed using a guiding finger (taking advantage of the anatomical conformation of the lateral surface) to guide the explorer finger (placed on the MSotA) to project the therapeutic areas and land marks on the MSotA. TIT could be considered useful and effective in AA to make the most of diagnostic and therapeutic MSotA potential. METHODS: An investigation was carried out on the impact of TIT in AA practice through a survey collected from former AA students. RESULTS: TIT showed a high consensus, and is used and appreciated by AA practitioners. Discussion/ Conclusions: To date, in AA, there is no thoroughly shared nomenclature for MSotA. TIT is simple and quick to project on to MSotA the well-coded lateral surface auricular maps from French or Chinese AA schools.

Source: Medicines

DOI: 10.3390/medicines9020013

Authors: Antonello Lovato, Francesco Ceccherelli, Giuseppe Gagliardi, Marco Postiglione

Institutions: University of Padua, AULSS 5 Polesana

Language: English

Topic: Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies

Subfield: Complementary and alternative medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,466