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Acupuncture in Veterinary Medicine

Dynamic Chiropractic, Mar 12, 2005 by Amaro, John

In the fall of 1979, I was fortunate to be included on one of the first State Department-approved lists of observers to visit the People's Republic of China. One of my first acupuncture experiences was to assist in the performance of acupuncture on a hog in rural Liaoning province in the Dongbei region of northeast China. Two thousand years ago, the ancient city of Mukden (now known as Shenyang) had become a major trading post to peoples living north of the Great Wall. Shenyang would ultimately become the court of the Manchu ("the masters") and the capital of Manchuria. It sits in a pivotal position, on the land route to both Korea and upper Mongolia.

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During the procedure, it was explained the acupuncture points of large animals are primarily based on the human anatomical transposition of human points onto animals. In other words, just place the human in the "all-four" position, much like an animal. The acupuncture points are virtually in the same location. Since the cow, pig, horse, camel and donkey were of vital importance to the ancient Chinese, veterinary acupuncture was developed and texts were written dealing with these animals. Even though there have been more than 70 texts on animal acupuncture noted throughout history, only 16 exist today.

Most of the information on veterinary medicine comes from the T'ang dynasty, which is usually recognized to have ruled from approximately 600 AD to 900 AD. During this period, due to the military requirements on the northern front, many horses were raised specifically for the ever-increasing military presence and its purposes. Recognizing the tremendous importance attached to the health and welfare of the horse, the T'ang dynasty established an actual department and school of veterinary medicine. This was the first formal education of this type in the history of China and the world. Even though the T'ang dynasty is credited with the formalization of veterinary acupuncture, the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, which occurred from approximately 400 BC to 200 BC, produced the historic practitioner who to this day is considered "the father of Chinese veterinary medicine," Shun Yang. However, the earliest recorded practitioner of veterinary medicine was during the Chou dynasty, around 950 BC. Chinese medicine was first introduced into Korea in the Chou dynasty, and then into Japan by way of Korea. Both countries have made numerous contributions to both human and animal acupuncture, especially during the years 1100 to 1600.

The Jesuits of France were a presence in Macao and as far as Peking (Beijing) as early as 1582. The French Jesuit Harvieu published the first work in a European language on human acupuncture in 1671. However, it was not until 1836 that the first mention of veterinary acupuncture appeared in print in France. The case reported was of a paralyzed ox that was treated by implanted needles 3 inches long in two rows bilateral to the lumbar spine. The needles were described as being driven in with a mallet and left in place for two days. In England, a passage from the British Veterinary Journal of 1828 stated, "Two things, however are sufficiently evident, that the sudden and magical relief which the human being has sometimes experienced has not been seen in the horse; and that, probably from the thickness of the integument, the animals suffered extreme torture during the insertion of the needles."

During the last dynasty recorded in China's long history, the Ch'ing dynasty (1644 to 1912), there was a countrywide epidemic that proved catastrophic to pigs. As a result of veterinary acupuncture, the disease process was cured and eliminated. In 1900, the book A Complete Collection of Pig Diseases was published. It was the information from this book that was being shared with me on that rural farm in Northeastern China in 1979. [See charts on page 38]

It was not until 1917 that the first "school for Chinese medicine" for humans patterned after Western medical schools was established in Shanghai. The school was privately financed and was the first school of its kind to offer a formal program and diploma in Chinese medicine. There were no schools at this time of Chinese veterinary medicine; only Western-style schools awarded degrees in veterinary medicine. In 1944, Chairman Mao Tse Tung issued a directive of historical proportions when he wrote, "If the modern practitioners of human and veterinary medicine do not unite with the more than one thousand traditional practitioners in this region and help them progress in knowledge and ability, they are in fact helping evil and letting many humans and animals die of diseases."

In 1947, the formation of the beginning of modern Chinese veterinary medicine developed with the establishment of the School of Agriculture of the Northern University. This entire school was devoted solely to Chinese veterinary medicine, which focused only on large animal applications. There has never been a development of small animal practice in the history of China, as there is literally no demand for its use, due to the cultural differences between the East and West regarding the owning of pets.

Health Care Industry

Acupuncture in Veterinary Medicine

Dynamic Chiropractic, Mar 12, 2005 by Amaro, John

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