ABSTRACT
Traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture therapy, was developed empirically over the past several thousand years (1–7). Its philosophical basis is a holistic view of man in the universe, in which physical and mental health are maintained by an equilibrium between the twin forces yin and yang. This all-pervasive duality can be viewed as contrasting and coexistent aspects of nature: yin is the passive, dark, negative, feminine principle; while yang is the light, active, positive, masculine principle. Neither can exist without the other.
