Page:The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800.djvu/66

 *tion of the skin over the seat of the malady by means of what are termed "moxae"—moxibustion. Moxae are prepared by kneading together into a cone-shaped, tinder-like mass the leaves of the artemisia vulgaris, then drying it thoroughly. Such a mass is attached to the skin at the affected spot by simply moistening the base of the cone, after which the apex is ignited. Some physicians prefer to interpose a thin sheet of metal between the skin and the base of the moxa. The manner in which these contrivances should be used in the different diseases and the proper number to employ are matters subject to fixed rules. In a strong individual, for example, as many as fifty moxae may be used at a time. In affections of the chest they were applied to the patient's back, in diseases of the stomach to the shoulders, and in venereal affections over the spinal column. In acupuncture, which is a procedure invented by the Chinese, slender needles of gold, silver or highly tempered steel, from 5 to 22 centimetres (2 in.-8-1/4 in.) in length, were forced through the stretched skin to different depths (1-1/4 in.-1-1/2 in.) and then driven farther inward in a rotary direction by means of a small hammer. The needles, after being allowed to remain in situ for a few minutes, were withdrawn, and pressure was made with the hand over the small wounds, or a moxa was burned over the spot. There are in all 388 places where acupuncture may be performed, and a chart of the body, showing where these places are located, has been prepared for the guidance of the Chinese physicians. Neuburger calls attention to the fact that the latter dislike the sight of blood, and that this is one of the reasons why acupuncture and the use of moxae have grown to be such popular remedies. Bloodletting is rarely employed by them; but dry cupping, on the contrary, is a favorite procedure in certain maladies. Massage is generally performed by old or blind women, and much attention is devoted to the "movement cure," which is said to have been invented about 2500 B. C.

As may readily be imagined, the Chinese—owing to their dislike for the sight of blood and also by reason of