Do acupuncture points exist? N145 3 cun 4 cun 5 cun 6 cur 21-24 right forearm. The black lines are the marks of the distribution of 24 points that scanned along meridian on sample 1 The samples investigated were provided by the Anatomy Teaching and Research Section of Second Military Medical University according to a protocol reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of the Second Military Medical University for appropriate use of human tissues. Our samples were all dissected from a cadaver by an anatomist. These samples were periosteum or interosseous membranes consisting mostly of fibrous connective tissues; hence they were very thin, less than 1 mm. The samples were always immersed in formalin. However, these samples lost their biochemical activity when they were dissected from the human bod and the concentrations of trace elements in them were then kept unchanged approximately. It was examined that the formalin fixation long-term storage had little effect on most element concentrations in tissue(Bush et al 1995). During the sample collection, storage or treatment processes, we still try to avoid any effects which will probably make a change in the element concentrations. The same treatment processes were used for all samples in order to compare the element concentrations of different samples under similar conditions. A sample figure 1)was cut from the ulnar and radius periosteum and interosseous membranes of the right forearm. The whole size of the sample was approximately 10 cm(length)x 3 cm(width) ( the lengthwise direction was along the meridian). It was named sample 1. The acupuncture points, Jianshi and Ximen, were located at 3/12 and 5/12 of the distance from the wrist to the elbow respectively(see figure 2). The other two acupuncture points investigated, Xiajuxu (sample 2)and Tiaokou(sample 3), were located 7/16 and 8/16 of the distance from the nkle to the knee respectively(see figure 3). A sample without an acupuncture point(see figure 3)was taken at 6/16 of this distance for reference(sample 4). The sizes of these three samples were approximately 3 cm(length)x 1.5 cm(width). All samples were taken from one individual and only one sample was collected from each site. In traditional Chinese medicine, in order to describe the position of acupuncture points a proportional unitcun'is usually used, which is a traditional Chinese unit of length and whose traditional measure is the width of a person's thumb at the knuckle. The lengths of different bodies or limbs are different. The length of 1/12 of the distance from the wrist to the elbow is one cun for sample ind the length of 1/16 of the distance from the ankle to the knee is one cun for samples 2, The experiments were carried out at the x-ray fluorescence station in the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility(BSRF) at the endstation of a 3WI a beam line, which had an energy range between 3. 5 keV and 35 keV. A lithium-drifted silicon(Si(Li) detector and 8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cun_(length)Do acupuncture points exist? N145 Figure 1. Picture of sample 1, the ulnar and radius periosteum and interosseous membranes of the right forearm. The black lines are the marks of the distribution of 24 points that scanned along the meridian on sample 1. The samples investigated were provided by the Anatomy Teaching and Research Section of Second Military Medical University according to a protocol reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of the Second Military Medical University for appropriate use of human tissues. Our samples were all dissected from a cadaver by an anatomist. These samples were periosteum or interosseous membranes consisting mostly of fibrous connective tissues; hence they were very thin, less than 1 mm. The samples were always immersed in formalin. However, these samples lost their biochemical activity when they were dissected from the human body and the concentrations of trace elements in them were then kept unchanged approximately. It was examined that the formalin fixation long-term storage had little effect on most element concentrations in tissue (Bush et al 1995). During the sample collection, storage or treatment processes, we still try to avoid any effects which will probably make a change in the element concentrations. The same treatment processes were used for all samples in order to compare the element concentrations of different samples under similar conditions. A sample (see figure 1) was cut from the ulnar and radius periosteum and interosseous membranes of the right forearm. The whole size of the sample was approximately 10 cm (length) × 3 cm (width) (the lengthwise direction was along the meridian). It was named sample 1. The acupuncture points, Jianshi and Ximen, were located at 3/12 and 5/12 of the distance from the wrist to the elbow respectively (see figure 2). The other two acupuncture points investigated, Xiajuxu (sample 2) and Tiaokou (sample 3), were located 7/16 and 8/16 of the distance from the ankle to the knee respectively (see figure 3). A sample without an acupuncture point (see figure 3) was taken at 6/16 of this distance for reference (sample 4). The sizes of these three samples were approximately 3 cm (length) × 1.5 cm (width). All samples were taken from one individual and only one sample was collected from each site. In traditional Chinese medicine, in order to describe the position of acupuncture points a proportional unit ‘cun’ is usually used, which is a traditional Chinese unit of length and whose traditional measure is the width of a person’s thumb at the knuckle8. The lengths of different bodies or limbs are different. The length of 1/12 of the distance from the wrist to the elbow is one cun for sample 1 and the length of 1/16 of the distance from the ankle to the knee is one cun for samples 2, 3 and 4. The experiments were carried out at the x-ray fluorescence station in the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF) at the endstation of a 3W1 A beam line, which had an energy range between 3.5 keV and 35 keV. A lithium-drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detector and 8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cun (length)