A comparison between directional (finger-cun) and proportional (proportional bone cun) methods in locating acupuncture points in the forearm

The cun measurement system is an essential component of the traditional point location methods used in acu­puncture. This study used the cun system to investigate any variation between the traditional measurements and the sample means for selected finger measurements, and for the forearm length obtained from 110 healthy volun­teer subjects randomly selected from students of the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey. This study was conducted in order to determine if finger cun-measurements are consistent with proportional bone methods and to investigate whether both methods can be used to locate acupuncture points in the forearm. The length of the forearm was measured using tape measure. The length of the forearm was compared with 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 finger cuns measured with a digital caliper. Additionally, PC6 and TW5 acupuncture points were found with an acupuncture detector. The distance from the wrist crease to PC6 and TW5 was measured and compared with the measurements obtained from directional and proportional methods.The results showed that 3 cun measured by the directional method was most significantly different from one cun measured by the proportional method. The directional method is likely less dependable in locating PC6 and TW5 acupuncture points than the proportional method