Acupuncture (from Latin acus - needle and puncture - placement[1] ) is a branch of traditional Chinese medicine and, according to the new terminology of the WHO - World Health Organization, a complementary treatment method. It was also declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on November 19, 2010.
Acupuncture treatment consists of diagnosis (also based on the classical teachings of Traditional Chinese Medicine) and the application of needles to defined points on the body, called "Acupuncture Points" or "Acupoints" which are distributed mainly along lines called "Chinese meridians" and "channels", to obtain different therapeutic effects depending on the case treated. Other techniques are also used alternatively or complementarily, the best known being moxibustion (application of heat over the acupoints or meridians), auriculotherapy, and, more recently, electroacupuncture.
The close relationship between the use of needles and moxa in acupuncture is evident in the literal translation of the Chinese acupuncture expression (Zhen Jiú - 针灸), where Zhen (针) is the needle and Jiú (灸) is the fire (cauterizing action). The acupuncturist's range of options, however, is usually much wider, and the acupoints and meridians can be stimulated with fingers (do in), coins, bone or jade combs (gua sha), suction cups (ventosaterapy), massages (tui na), and other techniques, such as bloodletting. Chinese acupuncture, due to its millennial history, ended up developing specific schools in countries near China, giving rise to shiatsu (a kind of massage) in Japan and the stimulation of the body's microsystems.