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Here, although in the past the auricula had been regarded as an important topographical region at which some meridians of body acupuncture meet, independent auricular acupuncture had not previously existed. The findings were not known about in China until the beginning of 1959. At the instance of Gerhard Bachmann (then Chairman of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Akupunktur ), these findings were published in the Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur (German Acupuncture Journal) in 1957. In February 1956, at the invitation of the famous acupuncturist Niboyet, Nogier presented his findings at the first congress of the Société méditerranéenne d’Acupuncture in Marseilles, France. He interpreted the representation of the body on the auricula as the image of an inverted fetus–he was thus able to assign the point on the antihelix usually used for sciatic pain therapy the representation zone L4. He came to the conclusion that disturbances of the body (over and above sciatic pain) could be demonstrated on a regular basis by means of sensitive or painful points on the auricula. He also began his own trials with cauterization but then turned to “less barbaric” methods such as pricking with needles or pins, with which he achieved equally good results. The patients reported astonishing success with this therapy, leading Nogier to further investigate the phenomenon. He discovered cauterization marks on the anthelix in numerous patients who had been treated by a healer (Mme. However, it was not until 1950 that the French neurologist Paul Nogier attempted to write a comprehensive description of the therapy of the auricula. However, beyond this there are no references to a concept of auricular acupuncture by the standard authors of Chinese medicine.Īs early as the 18th century, numerous publications reported the benefits of cauterization of the auricula as a therapy for sciatica. In the second part ( Ling Shu) of the Huang Di Nei Jing, there are observations regarding treatment in the area around the auricula. In 1717, Valsalva treated toothache via the auricula. Thus, as far back as 1637, Zactus Lusitanus described cauterization of the ear as a therapy for sciatic pain in Portugal in 1810 Ignaz Colla described cauterization of the rear side of the auricula for the same reason. But in Western Europe there are also references to such therapeutic approaches. We know of corresponding applications by, for example, Persian healers. Time and time again, cauterization of the auricula was undertaken as a therapy for sciatic pain.
![scapha auricula scapha auricula](http://medbib.in.ua/images/23547.png)
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Thus, Hippocrates is said to have tried to cure impotence by means of bloodletting from the outer ear Egyptian sailors are said to have tried to improve their sight for navigation by pricking their ear lobes (among other things, the Eye Point in the modern auriculotherapy model is also found in the ear lobe). Therapeutic procedures involving the auricula have been mentioned since antiquity. This basic principle also applies to the other microsystem zones. Unlike body acupuncture, the points on the auricula are only irritated and thus identifiable if there is a disturbance in the respective region of the body of which they are a representative projection. The representation of the body on the ear vaguely calls to mind an inverted fetus, the proportions and location of which vary considerably, however, depending on the school of auricular acupuncture (see below). It is a similar story for the familiar microsystems. Thus, in some cases in the central projection areas there are grotesquely disproportionate representations of the body that are often referred to as homunculus. By means of somatopy, corresponding constructs are also found for other senses, such as tonotopy for hearing and retinotopy for sight.Īs a rule, somatopic assignments are not relative to the size of the mapped region but in accordance with the expression of the respective qualities. Somatopies are familiar from different parts of the central nervous system, for example locomotor somatopy in the Gyrus precentralis or sensory somatopy in the Gyrus postcentralis. Often the term microsystem is used synonymously, although strictly speaking this includes the whole diagnostic and therapeutic concept. This expression is composed of the Greek words soma (= body) and topos (= location) and means the differentiated mapping of the body in one area (here the auricula). It is based on a self-contained model of thought. FillerĪuricular acupuncture represents a special form of acupuncture and is often used as a complement to body acupuncture.