Study on the name and essence of qiaomai, eight extraordinary meridians.

Qiaomai is one of the eight extraordinary meridians, and its theory has long been marginalized in academic research on meridians. So its academic and practical value has not received sufficient attention. This article is based on the theory in Huangdi Neijing, combined with unearthed literature from the Pre-Qin period and the fusion of various medical schools reflected in the meridian theory system, to explore qiaomai's name and essence. Our team believes that the formation of qiaomai is the result of the long-term exploration and application of somatic twisting daoyin in Central Plains medicine. The formation of qiaomai coincides with the practical process and therapeutic thinking of somatic twisting daoyin, which has gone through a transformation from directly treating sick tendons to treating sick qi by adjusting tendons. The name of qiaomai may originate from the meanings of various movements such as limb touching, stretching, and swinging in the somatic twisting technique. The primitive physiological function of qiaomai is to dominate human movement, and its physiological level should be located in the tendons of the human body. Qiaomai constantly intersected and was confused with the bladder meridian of foot-taiyang and the kidney meridian of foot-shaoyin after the integration of meridian theory and visceral medicine during the period of Huangdi Neijing, and the positioning and function of qiaomai gradually became blurred. This cognitive confusion has become the fundamental reason why the academic exploration and clinical application of qiaomai has been hindered for a long time. This also suggests that when studying various Pre-Qin medical theoretical systems in Huangdi Neijing, sufficient screening, analysis, and restoration should be carried out to ensure that theories from different sources are authentic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]