Thermal Characteristics of Moxibustion and its Implication to Primo Vascular System

Abstract

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), moxibustion is one of the main therapeutic tools by delivering heat to specific areas like meridian points. Heat stimulation by moxa cones are varied with their physical dimension such as mass, shape, density, and ingredients. Practically, it is not easy to control temperature or heat amount of moxibustion in clinical settings, which might cause inconsistency of moxibustion treatment. In this study, we measured temperature variation of moxa cones fabricated with two different moxa flosses while changing air flow. The results clearly showed the significant difference between them in terms of max temperature, duration, and the amount of heat generated. Radiation from a burning cone could have some therapeutic effects. Elemental and thermal analysis demonstrated the considerable difference in those components and heat generation. Our results suggest some guidelines for thermal stimuli on the meridian system or primo-vessels with moxibustion. Since the moxibustion has been used for heat stimuli, it could impact the behavior of primo-vessels and Bonghan corpuscle, which requires further study on thermal properties of those entities.