Moxibustion is one of the major external therapies of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and exerts a definite favorable effect in the treatment of patients with different problems.In the present paper

the authors reviewed 38 papers about somatic thermal intervention therapy published in recent 15 years and analyzed its biological functions from local

distal

and whole body effects.The local effects include 1)improving cutaneous inflammatory illnesses as verruca

herpes simplex

Leishmania infection

cutaneous necrosis

wound disunion

and promoting percutaneous absorption of some medicines

swelling pain;2)reliving sports fatigue and muscular injury

eliminating inflammation and pain reactions

probably by lowering local reactive oxygen species

superoxide dismutase

catalase

glutathione

etc.levels

and strengthening the flexibility of the knee-joint

and anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments;3)increasing blood perfusion of the regional arteriola

micrangium to eliminate accumulated subcutaneous blood cells

inflammatory mediators and other metabolic products.The distal effects contain 1)increase of the distal cutaneous blood flow and suppression of the arterial stenosis;and 2)improvement of the visceral functions including the heart(ischemia)

liver

gastrointestinal blood flow and smooth muscles

uterus smooth muscular tension

etc.The whole body effects include raising immunoability against cancer

and reducing tumor blood flow to damage the blood vessels in the tumor tissue

etc.In addition

the effects of thermal stimulation are affected by the temperature

stimulating duration and the stimulated positions.These research results may help us to comprehensively understand the effects and mechanisms of moxibustion therapy in the treatment of different clinical disorders.