本文总结了《内经》对气至的认识

提出气至即是气调

在《内经》中可分三种情况。气至可通过医者感觉和患者感觉体现出来。《内经》把气至作为针刺取效的关键

故明确气至的实质

对于针灸临床具有重要的指导意义。In the present paper

the authors sum up the term of acupuncture

"arrival of Qi" in Chinese medical classic Huangdi Neijing(《黄帝内经》The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic)

from 1) the connotation

2) the patient's and the operator's feelings

and 3) the clinical significance.The authors think that "arrival of Qi" means favorable regulation of Qi."Arrival of Qi" is different from "Deqi"(achieving needling sensations).There are three kinds of statuses about "arrival of Qi" in Huangdi Neijing

namely

a) extinction of pathogenic factors and restoration of the patient's resistance

b) balance of activities of "Rong"-Qi and "Wei"-Qi(functional activities) in the human body

and c) normalization of the disordered Qi.In case of "arrival of Qi"

the patient may feel comfortable around the focus or in the whole body or experience warm or cool feeling in the punctured area;and the operator may have a tightening feeling beneath the acupuncture needle tip and the patient's pulse condition turns to normal.In clinic

"arrival of Qi" is the key in achieving a positive therapeutic effect.Therefore

mastering the essence of "arrival of Qi" is of higher clinical value in acupuncture treatment of diseases.