In the present paper

the authors introduce the development of researches on the specificity of acupoints in morphological structure(nerves

blood vessels

musculotendons

connective tissues

etc)

biophysical characteristics(electricity

sonics

photology

thermology

electromagnetism)

pathological response

and effectiveness.However

the aforementioned researches are basically at the stage of phenomenon-observation

some key factors influencing acupoint specificity and the underlying mechanisms have no definite or lack convincing results.Further studies should aim at those acupoints for some effective diseases(or symptoms) of acupuncture by using multiple modern scientific techniques.Some key scientific issues about the biophysical characteristics

pathological responses

efficacy

and combination regularity of acupoints should be solved reasonably.Moreover

theoretical models about acupoint specificity should be established for developing the theory of acupoint learning.