Distribution of Mast Cells and Locations, Depths, and Sizes of the Putative Acupoints CV 8 and KI 16

Figure 1

(a) Schematic illustration of acupoints along the meridian in the abdomen of a mouse. Three meridians, conception vessel (CV), kidney (KI) lines, and stomach (ST) lines, are shown. The acupoint CV 8 is located at the umbilicus. (b) Cross-sectional image of a mouse abdomen showing its layers (epidermis, dermis, hypodermis, panniculus carnosus muscle (PCM), adventitia, skeletal muscle, fascia, and fat pad). The traditional locations of acupoints are indicated with dotted lines. (c) A toluidine-blue stained sample was imposed by a mesh of strips (50 μm each) in order to facilitate counting of MCs. The acupoint CV 8 is indicated with an ellipse and the region of background is shown by the enclosing curve.

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