Library

What has been measured, argued and handed down

The papers behind each link in the chain, the critiques, and the texts in which the traditions mapped the same ground. Papers are verified against PubMed.

A short history of knots

c. 100 BCEThe Huangdi Neijing describes the sinew channels, each of which “knots” (結) at bony prominences, and the cou li — the texture between skin and flesh where wind enters.↓
7th c.Sun Simiao names the ashi points — tender spots found by pressing, named for the patient’s cry.
15th c.The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā counts 72,000 nāḍīs and describes the piercing of the three granthis — the knots of Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra.↓
1843Froriep describes “Muskelschwiele” — muscle calluses — hard, tender places in rheumatic muscle.
1904Gowers coins “fibrositis” for the tender, painful lumps of lumbago.
1919Schade proposes “myogelosis”: the hardening is muscle colloid turned to gel — a gel theory seventy years before hyaluronan.
1936Bolton, Carmichael and Stürup record that a deep inspiration constricts the skin’s vessels within seconds.↓
1938Kellgren injects hypertonic saline into muscles and maps the referred pain that follows.
1952Travell and Rinzler publish the first maps of myofascial referred-pain patterns.↓
1977Melzack and colleagues find a 71% correspondence between trigger points and acupuncture points for pain.↓
1983Travell and Simons publish The Trigger Point Manual.↓
1986Segal and Duling show that a dilation conducts along an arteriole’s wall, upstream toward its feed.↓
1987Taylor and Palmer map the angiosomes: about forty source-artery territories and an average of 374 major perforators.↓
1988Heine reports that about 80% of acupoints sit where a vessel–nerve bundle perforates the superficial fascia. Hai and Murphy model the smooth-muscle latch.↓
1990The American College of Rheumatology fixes eighteen tender points for fibromyalgia.↓
1993Hubbard and Berkoff record spontaneous needle-EMG activity at trigger points.↓
1994McNulty and colleagues: mental arithmetic turns up the activity at a trigger point but not beside it. Quintner and Cohen propose the nerve alternative.↓
2002Langevin and Yandow: 80% of acupoints lie on connective-tissue planes.↓
2005Shah’s microdialysis samples the acidic, mediator-rich milieu inside active trigger points.↓
2009Sikdar images trigger points as stiff hypoechoic nodules. Saint-Cyr names the perforasome.↓
2011Stecco proposes hyaluronan densification; Langevin measures 20% less fascial glide in chronic low back pain.↓
2015Quintner, Bove and Cohen publish a critical evaluation of the trigger-point construct.↓
2017Lindahl, Britton and colleagues catalogue meditation-related challenges, including pressure that builds and releases.↓
2018Benias and colleagues describe a body-wide, fluid-filled interstitium in the fasciae and dermis.↓
2023Michael Edward Johnson proposes vasocomputation: vascular tension as memory, latches as hyperpriors.↓
2026Knots of Existence and Vasocomputation, then Knots of Existence Hypotheses: knots as perforators held stuck, and the fascia as a second system.↓

Sources

2026
Knots of Existence Hypotheses
Eugene Jhong (text by Fable 5.1) · Substack, 8 September 2026
Where this atlas began: knots as perforators held stuck, the fascia as a second system, trees of vessels, the traditions, and experiments to test it.
essay · perforators · fascia · contemplative
2026
Knots of Existence and Vasocomputation
Eugene Jhong (text by Kimi and Fable) · Substack, 14 August 2026
The original: knots as a state, not a structure — “a stale lock file” — the two-key protocol of pressure and breath, and a research programme.
essay · vessels · contemplative
2026
How to Unclench: a field guide to the trainable skill of unclenching
Jonny Miller · howtounclench.com
Practices of release. Read the cautions first.
web · contemplative · breath
2026
Physiological Impacts and Medical Applications of the Inspiratory Gasp Vascular Reflex
Mayrovitz HN · Cureus 18:e105709
The inspiratory gasp reflex reviewed: skin vessels constrict 3.6–3.8 s after a gasp, most deeply at 4.6–5.2 s, and recover over about half a minute.
paper · breath · vessels
2026
Arteriolar Collapse and Haemodynamic Incoherence in Shock: Rethinking Critical Closing Pressure
Miller A, Rola P, Spiegel R et al. · J Pers Med 16
Critical closing pressure read as a binary threshold: arterioles snap shut when smooth-muscle tension exceeds intraluminal pressure, and reopen only when tone falls, external pressure is relieved or inflow pressure rises.
paper · vessels · models
2025
Effectiveness of Ultrasound-Guided Hydrodissection for Atypical Anterior Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome Presenting as Lower Back Pain Due to Retrograde Neuropathic Pain
Yoshinaga T, Koga T, Koga H · Cureus 17:e94871
The whole model in one case: a tender point, a pulsating perforating artery beneath it on Doppler, resolution with hydrodissection.
paper · perforators · nerve
2024
Antagonism of 5-HT(2) receptors attenuates self-sustained firing of human motor units
Goodlich BI, Pearcey GEP, Del Vecchio A et al. · J Physiol 602:1759-1774
Blocking serotonin 5-HT2 receptors shortened human motor units' self-sustained firing: units recruited by extra drive could not switch off when it was removed, and less so under the blocker.
paper · nerve
2024
Perforating cutaneous vessels: A key feature of acupoints - Anatomical evidence from five-Shu acupoints in the upper limbs
Meng S, Tang Z, Zhu M et al. · Clin Anat 37:33-42
Dissection of the five-shu points of the arm: perforating cutaneous vessels are a key feature of acupoints.
paper · acupuncture · perforators
2024
Vasocomputation and vascular tension
Michael Edward Johnson · opentheory.net notes
“A sustained thought is a pattern of vascular clenching that reduces dynamic range in nearby neurons.”
essay · vessels · mind
2023
The contralateral effects of foam rolling on range of motion and muscle performance
Konrad A, Nakamura M, Warneke K et al. · Eur J Appl Physiol 123:1167-1178
A scoping review: one bout of foam rolling on one limb increases range of motion in the other, untreated limb, most likely through reduced perception of pain. A single bout leaves the other side’s maximal strength unchanged.
paper · fascia · mind
2023
Principles of Vasocomputation: A Unification of Buddhist Phenomenology, Active Inference, and Physical Reflex (Part I)
Michael Edward Johnson · opentheory.net, 12 July 2023 (updated 2025)
Vascular smooth muscle as a computational medium: vasomotion compresses, contractions clamp, sustained contractions latch into hyperpriors; tanha as their felt signature.
essay · vessels · mind · contemplative
2023
Increasing pulse pressure ex vivo, mimicking acute physical exercise, induces smooth muscle cell-mediated de-stiffening of murine aortic segments
Neutel CHG, Weyns AS, Leloup A et al. · Commun Biol 6:1137
Aortic smooth muscle de-stiffens after bouts of high cyclic stretch and re-stiffens slowly; the muscle has to be contracted and stretched for it to happen.
paper · vessels · animals
2022
Functional Role of STIM-1 and Orai1 in Human Microvascular Aging
El Assar M, García-Rojo E, Sevilleja-Ortiz A et al. · Cells 11
Human small arteries from donors over 65 contract more strongly to adrenergic stimulation; force is close to maximal at 90% of the circumference they would have at 100 mmHg.
paper · vessels
2022
Innervation of human superficial fascia
Fede C, Petrelli L, Pirri C et al. · Front Neuroanat 16:981426
The superficial fascia is richly innervated; about a third of its fibres are autonomic, concentrated around vessels.
paper · fascia · nerve
2022
Ultrasound-guided motor unit scanning electromyography
Maitland S, Hall J, McNeill A et al. · Muscle Nerve 66:730-735
A single motor unit's territory measured with ultrasound-guided scanning EMG in tibialis anterior: 1.5 to 14.7 mm across, 7.2 mm on average.
paper · anatomy · imaging
2022
Laser speckle contrast imaging and laser Doppler flowmetry reproducibly assess reflex cutaneous vasoconstriction
Schwartz KS, Theis EN, Bunting K et al. · Microvasc Res 142:104363
Laser speckle and laser Doppler reproducibly track the skin's reflex vasoconstriction to cooling; the shallowest sampling sees a smaller response than the deepest.
paper · vessels · imaging
2021
Haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients have severely impaired post-occlusive skin forearm vasodilatory response assessed with laser speckle contrast imaging
Alexandrou ME, Gkaliagkousi Ε, Loutradis C et al. · Clin Kidney J 14:1419-1427
Reactive hyperaemia in forearm skin by laser speckle imaging: after an occlusion, flow rises 187% above baseline and peaks about 11 s after release.
paper · vessels · imaging
2021
[Copeman nodules, a frequent but little known cause of low back pain; case report]
Martínez Núñez P, Ruiz Alonso ME, Pérez González M · Rehabilitacion (Madr) 55:157-160
Copeman nodules (episacral lipomas) are common: fat herniated beneath the fascia through weakened areas of the thoracodorsal fascia, usually on both sides.
paper · fascia · anatomy
2020
Tutorial: Analysis of motor unit discharge characteristics from high-density surface EMG signals
Del Vecchio A, Holobar A, Falla D et al. · J Electromyogr Kinesiol 53:102426
A tutorial on reading motor unit discharges from high-density surface EMG.
paper · models
2020
Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review
Farias M, Maraldi E, Wallenkampf KC et al. · Acta Psychiatr Scand 142:374-393
Across 83 studies, adverse events in about 8% of those who meditated — anxiety and depression most often, suicidal behaviour among them — sometimes in people with no previous mental-health problems.
paper · contemplative · safety
2020
Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice, 42nd edition
Susan Standring (ed.) · Elsevier
For the galea, the SMAS, the superficial fascia and the fascial planes of the body.
book · anatomy
2019
Device-guided slow breathing reduces blood pressure and sympathetic activity in young normotensive individuals of both sexes
Adler TE, Coovadia Y, Cirone D et al. · J Appl Physiol (1985) 127:1042-1049
In young normotensive women and men, 15 minutes of slow breathing lowered muscle sympathetic burst incidence by 5 bursts per 100 heartbeats and blood pressure by 3 mmHg.
paper · breath · vessels
2019
Acupuncture Points and Perforating Cutaneous Vessels Identified Using Infrared Thermography: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study
Álvarez-Prats D, Carvajal-Fernández O, Valera Garrido F et al. · Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2019:7126439
Infrared thermography finds perforating cutaneous vessels at acupuncture points.
paper · acupuncture · perforators
2019
Anatomical Evidence of Acupuncture Meridians in the Human Extracellular Matrix: Results from a Macroscopic and Microscopic Interdisciplinary Multicentre Study on Human Corpses
Maurer N, Nissel H, Egerbacher M et al. · Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2019:6976892
Dissection of meridians: tracks in the extracellular matrix, but vessel–nerve bundles at only a few points.
paper · acupuncture · fascia
2019
Immediate effects of variable durations of pressure release technique on latent myofascial trigger points of the levator scapulae: a double-blinded randomised clinical trial
Pecos-Martin D, Ponce-Castro MJ, Jiménez-Rejano JJ et al. · Acupunct Med 37:141-150
Pressure release held on a latent trigger point for 60 or 90 s raised its pressure-pain threshold more than 30 s did.
paper · trigger points
2018
Structure and Distribution of an Unrecognized Interstitium in Human Tissues
Benias PC, Wells RG, Sackey-Aboagye B et al. · Sci Rep 8:4947
Fluid-filled spaces supported by collagen bundles in submucosae, dermis, fasciae and perivascular tissue — a body-wide interstitium.
paper · fascia · anatomy
2018
Support for meditators in difficulty
Cheetah House · cheetahhouse.org
If a process is destabilising you, start here — and see a physician.
web · safety · contemplative
2018
Quantification of hyaluronan in human fasciae: variations with function and anatomical site
Fede C, Angelini A, Stern R et al. · J Anat 233:552-556
Hyaluronan measured in human fasciae: 6 µg/g over trapezius and deltoid, about 30–35 µg/g in fascia lata and rectus sheath, 90 µg/g in the retinacula.
paper · fascia
2018
Challenging the Cinderella Hypothesis: A New Model for the Role of the Motor Unit Recruitment Pattern in the Pathogenesis of Myofascial Pain Syndrome in Postural Muscles
Minerbi A, Vulfsons S · Rambam Maimonides Med J 9
A model of a postural muscle whose motor units take turns: more load or less strength shortens each unit's rest, a route into the energy crisis that replaces the Cinderella hypothesis.
paper · trigger points · models
2018
A Comparison Between Rheological Properties of Intra-articular Hyaluronic Acid Preparations and Reported Human Synovial Fluid
Nicholls M, Manjoo A, Shaw P et al. · Adv Ther 35:523-530
Healthy synovial fluid, far richer in hyaluronan than fascia, has a zero-shear viscosity of 1–175 Pa·s: an upper bound for any hyaluronan collar.
paper · fascia · models
2017
Pain and respiration: a systematic review
Jafari H, Courtois I, Van den Bergh O et al. · Pain 158:995-1006
Systematic review: pain raises breathing's flow, rate and volume, and paced slow breathing reduces pain in some studies, by mechanisms not yet known.
paper · breath · mind
2017
The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists
Lindahl JR, Fisher NE, Cooper DJ et al. · PLoS One 12:e0176239
The largest study of meditation-related challenges: pressure or tension that builds and releases, energy, currents, involuntary movement.
paper · contemplative · safety
2017
Interrater Agreement of Manual Palpation for Identification of Myofascial Trigger Points: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Rathbone ATL, Grosman-Rimon L, Kumbhare DA · Clin J Pain 33:715-729
Examiners agree only moderately on where trigger points are by touch (kappa 0.45); tenderness and the patient recognising the pain agree best.
paper · trigger points · critique
2017
The Varieties of Contemplative Experience
Willoughby Britton and colleagues · Brown University
The research programme on meditation-related difficulties.
web · contemplative · safety
2016
The Best-Laid Plans of "Back Mice" and Men: A Case Report and Literature Review of Episacroiliac Lipoma
Bicket MC, Simmons C, Zheng Y · Pain Physician 19:181-8
"Back mice": firm, rubbery, mobile nodules in the low back that may be fat herniated through the fascial layers; tender ones mimic myofascial pain.
paper · fascia · anatomy
2016
Preferential distribution of nociceptive input to motoneurons with muscle units in the cranial portion of the upper trapezius muscle
Dideriksen JL, Holobar A, Falla D · J Neurophysiol 116:611-8
Motor units of the upper trapezius recorded from the skin with high-density EMG: pain reaches the units of its upper part first.
paper · trigger points
2016
Rainbow Body and Resurrection: Spiritual Attainment, the Dissolution of the Material Body, and the Case of Khenpo A Chö
Francis V. Tiso · North Atlantic Books
An investigation of the rainbow body (’ja’ lus) — the tradition’s most extreme claim about the body at the end.
book · traditions · contemplative
2016
Specific and cross-over effects of foam rolling on ankle dorsiflexion range of motion
Kelly S, Beardsley C · Int J Sports Phys Ther 11:544-551
Foam rolling the calf of one leg increased ankle range of motion in that leg for at least 20 minutes, and in the other, untouched leg for up to 10 — a cross-over effect, perhaps through greater stretch tolerance.
paper · fascia · mind
2016
Multi-channel intramuscular and surface EMG decomposition by convolutive blind source separation
Negro F, Muceli S, Castronovo AM et al. · J Neural Eng 13:026027
High-density surface EMG decomposed into single motor units by blind source separation: the method that could see a unit fall silent at a release.
paper · models
2016
Perforator-Guided Drug Injection in the Treatment of Abdominal Wall Pain
Weum S, de Weerd L · Pain Med 17:1229-32
In cutaneous nerve entrapment of the abdominal wall, the point of maximal pain lies where perforating vessels exit through the rectus fascia.
paper · nerve · perforators
2015
Does smooth muscle in an intact airway undergo length adaptation during a sustained change in transmural pressure?
Ansell TK, McFawn PK, McLaughlin RA et al. · J Appl Physiol (1985) 118:533-43
A caution: whole airways held inflated or deflated for about 50 minutes showed no length adaptation within physiological ranges.
paper · breath · animals
2015
Viscoelastic Properties of Hyaluronan in Physiological Conditions
Cowman MK, Schmidt TA, Raghavan P et al. · F1000Res 4:622
Hyaluronan's viscosity in the body: crowding and immobility raise it, warmth lowers it gradually (two- to threefold from 25 to 65 °C), and in inflammation it can bind proteins into aggregates.
paper · fascia
2015
Architecture of Human Living Fascia: The Extracellular Matrix and Cells Revealed Through Endoscopy
Jean-Claude Guimberteau, Colin Armstrong · Handspring Publishing
Living fascia filmed under the skin: a multimicrovacuolar web of fibrils that slides, stretches and recovers.
book · fascia · anatomy
2015
A critical evaluation of the trigger point phenomenon
Quintner JL, Bove GM, Cohen ML · Rheumatology (Oxford) 54:392-9
A sceptical review of the trigger-point construct and its circularity.
paper · critique · trigger points
2015
Myofascial Trigger Points Then and Now: A Historical and Scientific Perspective
Shah JP, Thaker N, Heimur J et al. · PM R 7:746-761
Trigger points then and now: a history from 19th-century “nodules” to microdialysis.
paper · trigger points · history
2015
Novel Use of Ultrasound Elastography to Quantify Muscle Tissue Changes After Dry Needling of Myofascial Trigger Points in Patients With Chronic Myofascial Pain
Turo D, Otto P, Hossain M et al. · J Ultrasound Med 34:2149-61
Ultrasound elastography measured the stiffer share of the trapezius around trigger points falling as they responded to dry needling.
paper · trigger points · imaging
2014
Ultrasonography in myofascial neck pain: randomized clinical trial for diagnosis and follow-up
Stecco A, Meneghini A, Stern R et al. · Surg Radiol Anat 36:243-53
The loose-connective-tissue sublayers of neck fascia are thicker in chronic neck pain and thin with treatment.
paper · fascia · imaging
2014
Integrative modeling of small artery structure and function uncovers critical parameters for diameter regulation
VanBavel E, Tuna BG · PLoS One 9:e86901
A model of small arteries regulated by four adaptive processes (tone, smooth-muscle length adaptation, matrix rearrangement, growth): leave any one out and regulation fails, in some cases with unstable structure.
paper · vessels · models
2013
Pain modulation induced by respiration: phase and frequency effects
Arsenault M, Ladouceur A, Lehmann A et al. · Neuroscience 252:501-11
Pain from brief shocks was rated lower near the end of the in-breath than of the out-breath, and the effect was small: the breath's phase is not what makes relaxation analgesic.
paper · breath · mind
2013
Randomized clinical trial of trigger point infiltration with lidocaine to diagnose anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome
Boelens OB, Scheltinga MR, Houterman S et al. · Br J Surg 100:217-21
In abdominal wall pain from entrapped cutaneous nerves, lidocaine injected at the point of maximal pain relieved it in 13 of 24 patients, saline in 4 of 24.
paper · nerve
2013
Stress-induced allodynia--evidence of increased pain sensitivity in healthy humans and patients with chronic pain after experimentally induced psychosocial stress
Crettaz B, Marziniak M, Willeke P et al. · PLoS One 8:e69460
A standardised social stressor raised sensitivity to heat pain in healthy people, and to pressure pain as well in fibromyalgia.
paper · mind
2013
Changes in blood flow and cellular metabolism at a myofascial trigger point with trigger point release (ischemic compression): a proof-of-principle pilot study
Moraska AF, Hickner RC, Kohrt WM et al. · Arch Phys Med Rehabil 94:196-200
Microdialysis inside an active trigger point: ischaemic compression brings a transient rise in local blood flow.
paper · trigger points · vessels
2012
The effect of deep and slow breathing on pain perception, autonomic activity, and mood processing--an experimental study
Busch V, Magerl W, Kern U et al. · Pain Med 13:215-28
Deep, slow breathing with relaxation raised pain thresholds and lowered sympathetic arousal; the same breathing done with effortful attention did neither.
paper · breath · mind
2012
The influence of dry needling of the trapezius muscle on muscle blood flow and oxygenation
Cagnie B, Barbe T, De Ridder E et al. · J Manipulative Physiol Ther 35:685-91
A single dry-needling stimulus raises local blood flow and oxygenation in the trapezius for fifteen minutes.
paper · trigger points · vessels
2012
Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body
Robert Schleip, Thomas W. Findley, Leon Chaitow, Peter A. Huijing (eds.) · Churchill Livingstone Elsevier
The reference text of modern fascia research.
book · fascia
2012
Strain hardening of fascia: static stretching of dense fibrous connective tissues can induce a temporary stiffness increase accompanied by enhanced matrix hydration
Schleip R, Duerselen L, Vleeming A et al. · J Bodyw Mov Ther 16:94-100
Stretch squeezes water out of dense fascia; at rest it returns, past where it was, and the tissue stiffens: fascia's stiffness follows its water.
paper · fascia
2012
Smooth muscle biomechanics and plasticity: relevance for vascular calibre and remodelling
Tuna BG, Bakker EN, VanBavel E · Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 110:35-41
Review: vascular smooth muscle adapts its length like airway and bladder muscle; under strong constriction this may prevent immediate full dilation and lead to inward remodelling.
paper · vessels · models
2012
The thoracolumbar fascia: anatomy, function and clinical considerations
Willard FH, Vleeming A, Schuenke MD et al. · J Anat 221:507-36
The thoracolumbar fascia: anatomy, function and clinical considerations.
paper · fascia · anatomy
2011
Active tension adaptation at a shortened arterial muscle length: inhibition by cytochalasin-D
Bednarek ML, Speich JE, Miner AS et al. · Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 300:H1166-73
Arterial smooth muscle shortened by a fifth regains force over three contractions, by adding actin filaments; released from 1.25 to 0.75 of its optimal length, its sustained force rises by half.
paper · vessels · animals
2011
Reduced thoracolumbar fascia shear strain in human chronic low back pain
Langevin HM, Fox JR, Koptiuch C et al. · BMC Musculoskelet Disord 12:203
About 20% less shear glide between thoracolumbar fascia layers in chronic low back pain.
paper · fascia · imaging
2011
Hyaluronan within fascia in the etiology of myofascial pain
Stecco C, Stern R, Porzionato A et al. · Surg Radiol Anat 33:891-6
Hyaluronan-rich loose tissue between fascial layers, and its densification as a substrate of myofascial pain.
paper · fascia
2011
The anatomical (angiosome) and clinical territories of cutaneous perforating arteries: development of the concept and designing safe flaps
Taylor GI, Corlett RJ, Dhar SC et al. · Plast Reconstr Surg 127:1447-1459
The anatomical territory of one cutaneous perforator, bounded by the anastomoses that link it to its neighbours.
paper · perforators · anatomy
2011
Awakening the Sacred Body: Tibetan Yogas of Breath and Movement
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche · Hay House
The three channels, the five winds, and the tsa lung movements that open them.
book · traditions · breath · contemplative
2011
Sensory innervation of the thoracolumbar fascia in rats and humans
Tesarz J, Hoheisel U, Wiedenhöfer B et al. · Neuroscience 194:302-8
The thoracolumbar fascia is densely innervated, including nociceptors.
paper · fascia · nerve
2011
Central sensitization: implications for the diagnosis and treatment of pain
Woolf CJ · Pain 152:S2-S15
Central sensitisation: the central amplifier of chronic pain.
paper · nerve · critique
2010
'Pain inhibits pain' mechanisms: Is pain modulation simply due to distraction?
Moont R, Pud D, Sprecher E et al. · Pain 150:113-120
Pain inhibits pain: a painful stimulus on one hand lessens pain elsewhere (conditioned pain modulation), independently of distraction.
paper · mind
2010
The anatomic basis of perforator flaps
Morris SF, Tang M, Almutari K et al. · Clin Plast Surg 37:553-70, xi
A modern synthesis of perforator anatomy region by region.
paper · perforators · anatomy
2010
Sympathetic nerve activity is decreased during device-guided slow breathing
Oneda B, Ortega KC, Gusmão JL et al. · Hypertens Res 33:708-12
Fifteen minutes of device-guided slow breathing (about 5.5 breaths a minute) lowered muscle sympathetic nerve activity by 8 bursts a minute; calm music lowered blood pressure but not sympathetic activity.
paper · breath · vessels
2010
Excellent reproducibility of laser speckle contrast imaging to assess skin microvascular reactivity
Roustit M, Millet C, Blaise S et al. · Microvasc Res 80:505-11
Laser speckle contrast imaging of forearm skin is reproducible from week to week: 8% for the peak of reactive hyperaemia, 15% for the plateau of local heating.
paper · vessels · imaging
2010
The effects of slow breathing on affective responses to pain stimuli: an experimental study
Zautra AJ, Fasman R, Davis MC et al. · Pain 149:12-18
Breathing at half the normal rate lowered the intensity and unpleasantness of moderate heat pain, less reliably in fibromyalgia.
paper · breath · mind
2009
Myofascial referred-pain data provide physiologic evidence of acupuncture meridians
Dorsher PT · J Pain 10:723-31
Trigger-point referred-pain patterns track the acupuncture meridians.
paper · acupuncture · trigger points
2009
Comparison of instruments for investigation of microcirculatory blood flow and red blood cell concentration
O'Doherty J, McNamara P, Clancy NT et al. · J Biomed Opt 14:034025
Laser speckle perfusion imaging is sensitive to the skin's superficial, nutritional supply; a laser Doppler line scanner to deeper vessels.
paper · vessels · imaging
2009
The perforasome theory: vascular anatomy and clinical implications
Saint-Cyr M, Wong C, Schaverien M et al. · Plast Reconstr Surg 124:1529-1544
Each perforator supplies its own territory — a perforasome — linked to its neighbours by direct and indirect vessels.
paper · perforators · anatomy
2009
Novel applications of ultrasound technology to visualize and characterize myofascial trigger points and surrounding soft tissue
Sikdar S, Shah JP, Gebreab T et al. · Arch Phys Med Rehabil 90:1829-38
Trigger points imaged: discrete hypoechoic nodules, stiffer than surroundings, with abnormal flow.
paper · trigger points · imaging
2009
Three-dimensional analysis of perforators of the posterior leg
Tang M, Mao Y, Almutairi K et al. · Plast Reconstr Surg 123:1729-1738
Thirteen perforators of at least 0.5 mm in the back of each leg, each supplying about 38 cm²; lower down, septocutaneous perforators arranged lengthwise in one or two parallel chains.
paper · perforators · anatomy
2008
Effect of electrode array position and subcutaneous tissue thickness on conduction velocity estimation in upper trapezius muscle
Cescon C, Rebecchi P, Merletti R · J Electromyogr Kinesiol 18:628-36
Over the upper trapezius the fat beneath the skin measured 3 to 18 mm by ultrasound, and the muscle's innervation zone lay mid-way between C7 and the acromion.
paper · anatomy · imaging
2008
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha
Daniel M. Ingram · Aeon Books (2nd ed. 2018; free online)
A practitioner’s map, including the difficult territory of intensive practice.
book · contemplative · safety
2008
Resolution of inflammation-induced axonal mechanical sensitivity and conduction slowing in C-fiber nociceptors
Dilley A, Bove GM · J Pain 9:185-92
The mechanical sensitivity an inflamed nerve's fibres develop is there at one week and at four, and has virtually gone by eight.
paper · nerve · animals
2008
Persistent inward currents in spinal motoneurons and their influence on human motoneuron firing patterns
Heckman CJ, Johnson M, Mottram C et al. · Neuroscientist 14:264-75
Persistent inward currents in motor neurons amplify synaptic input up to fivefold or more, set by serotonin and noradrenaline; brief inputs can start long-lasting self-sustained firing (bistable behaviour), and turning it off usually needs inhibitory input.
paper · nerve · models
2008
Adaptive response of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle to length change
Syyong H, Cheung C, Solomon D et al. · J Appl Physiol (1985) 104:1014-20
Pulmonary arterial smooth muscle shortened to 0.6 of its length regains 73% of the force it lost, along a single exponential: the muscle adapts to the length it is held at.
paper · vessels · animals
2008
WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region
World Health Organization, Western Pacific Region · WHO, Manila
The standard for the 361 classical points and their proportional (cun) locations.
book · traditions · acupuncture
2007
The superior and inferior gluteal artery perforator flaps
Ahmadzadeh R, Bergeron L, Tang M et al. · Plast Reconstr Surg 120:1551-1556
About 5 superior and 8 inferior gluteal perforators of at least 0.5 mm on each side, along two lines across the buttock.
paper · perforators · anatomy
2007
Identification and quantification of myofascial taut bands with magnetic resonance elastography
Chen Q, Bensamoun S, Basford JR et al. · Arch Phys Med Rehabil 88:1658-61
Taut bands identified and quantified with magnetic resonance elastography.
paper · trigger points · imaging
2007
Human cutaneous reactive hyperaemia: role of BKCa channels and sensory nerves
Lorenzo S, Minson CT · J Physiol 585:295-303
The skin's reactive hyperaemia is carried largely by sensory nerves and BKCa channels, not prostanoids.
paper · vessels · nerve
2007
Universal physical responses to stretch in the living cell
Trepat X, Deng L, An SS et al. · Nature 447:592-5
After a transient stretch the living cell's cytoskeleton fluidizes, in the same way across cell types: a universal physical response.
paper · models
2007
Length-tension relationships of small arteries, veins, and lymphatics from the rat mesenteric microcirculation
Zhang RZ, Gashev AA, Zawieja DC et al. · Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 292:H1943-52
Small arteries of about 240 µm develop a maximal active wall tension of 3.4 mN/mm: the strength with which a vessel can close itself.
paper · vessels · animals
2006
Local and systemic vasodilation following hypnotic suggestion of warm tub bathing
Casiglia E, Rossi A, Tikhonoff V et al. · Int J Psychophysiol 62:60-5
Under hypnosis, suggesting only the forearm was in warm water dilated that forearm (resistance -18%, flow +43%); suggesting the whole body dilated vessels everywhere.
paper · vessels · mind
2006
Mechanical compression elicits vasodilatation in rat skeletal muscle feed arteries
Clifford PS, Kluess HA, Hamann JJ et al. · J Physiol 572:561-7
Muscle feed arteries squeezed shut widen within seconds of release: by 16% after one 1 s compression, 14% after one of 5 s, and 27% after five of 1 s. Repeated compressions add up; a longer one does not.
paper · vessels · animals
2006
Connective tissue: a body-wide signaling network?
Langevin HM · Med Hypotheses 66:1074-7
Connective tissue as a body-wide signalling network.
paper · fascia
2006
Needle electromyographic activity of myofascial trigger points and control sites in equine cleidobrachialis muscle--an observational study
Macgregor J, Graf von Schweinitz D · Acupunct Med 24:61-70
Horses have trigger points too: the same spontaneous electrical activity found in humans and rabbits.
paper · animals · trigger points
2006
Passive muscle stiffness may be influenced by active contractility of intramuscular connective tissue
Schleip R, Naylor IL, Ursu D et al. · Med Hypotheses 66:66-71
Fascia can contract on its own, via myofibroblasts.
paper · fascia
2005
Pressure and stretch mechanosensitivity of peripheral nerve fibres following local inflammation of the nerve trunk
Dilley A, Lynn B, Pang SJ · Pain 117:462-472
After a local inflammation of a nerve, some of its fibres fire when the site is pressed or the nerve stretched by 3%, within the range of ordinary movement; none do in healthy nerves.
paper · nerve · animals
2005
Role of the pH on hyaluronan behavior in aqueous solution
Gatej I, Popa M, Rinaudo M · Biomacromolecules 6:61-7
Hyaluronan's flow hardly changes with pH, except near pH 2.5, where it turns gel-like, and above 12: the body's range of acidity leaves it as it is.
paper · fascia
2005
[Introduction to the knowledge of subcutaneous sliding system in humans]
Guimberteau JC, Sentucq-Rigall J, Panconi B et al. · Ann Chir Plast Esthet 50:19-34
Filmed in living people: the sliding tissue under the skin is a web of tiny fluid-filled cells, walled in collagen and filled with proteoglycans, that lets the skin, fat, fascia and vessels glide past each other.
paper · fascia · anatomy
2005
The latch-bridge hypothesis of smooth muscle contraction
Murphy RA, Rembold CM · Can J Physiol Pharmacol 83:857-64
The latch-bridge hypothesis reviewed: in sustained contractions calcium, phosphorylation and ATP use fall while force is held.
paper · vessels · models
2005
An in vivo microanalytical technique for measuring the local biochemical milieu of human skeletal muscle
Shah JP, Phillips TM, Danoff JV et al. · J Appl Physiol (1985) 99:1977-84
The acidic, mediator-rich milieu of active trigger points, sampled by microdialysis.
paper · trigger points
2004
An expansion of Simons' integrated hypothesis of trigger point formation
Gerwin RD, Dommerholt J, Shah JP · Curr Pain Headache Rep 8:468-75
The integrated hypothesis of trigger-point formation, expanded.
paper · trigger points
2004
Fascial Manipulation for Musculoskeletal Pain
Luigi Stecco · Piccin
Centres of coordination and fusion; the clinical method behind the densification model.
book · fascia
2004
Acute mechanoadaptation of vascular smooth muscle cells in response to continuous arteriolar vasoconstriction: implications for functional remodeling
Martinez-Lemus LA, Hill MA, Bolz SS et al. · FASEB J 18:708-10
Arterioles constricted for 5 minutes relax fully when the drive is removed; after 4 hours they do not, and their muscle cells have repositioned to hold the smaller diameter.
paper · vessels · animals
2003
Skin blood flow in adult human thermoregulation: how it works, when it does not, and why
Charkoudian N · Mayo Clin Proc 78:603-12
Skin blood flow is set by sympathetic nerves and local temperature: from minimal levels under local cooling to 6–8 L/min in heat.
paper · vessels
2003
Delayed arteriolar relaxation after prolonged agonist exposure: functional remodeling involving tyrosine phosphorylation
Hill MA, Potocnik SJ, Martinez-Lemus LA et al. · Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 285:H849-56
After 4 hours of constriction, arterioles relax more slowly when the drive is removed; the hold still needs calcium, and goes at once without it.
paper · vessels · animals
2003
Adaptation to chronic length change in explanted airway smooth muscle
Naghshin J, Wang L, Pare PD et al. · J Appl Physiol (1985) 95:448-53; discussion 435
Airway muscle held short for a week shifts its optimal length down by 38%, and the shift no longer fully reverses: after 3 days it still did.
paper · models · animals
2002
Inward remodeling follows chronic vasoconstriction in isolated resistance arteries
Bakker EN, van der Meulen ET, van den Berg BM et al. · J Vasc Res 39:12-20
Resistance arteries kept actively constricted for 3 days remodel inward, their relaxed lumen 10-16% smaller; kept narrow without tone, they do not.
paper · vessels · animals
2002
Avalanche behavior in yield stress fluids
Coussot P, Nguyen QD, Huynh HT et al. · Phys Rev Lett 88:175501
Gels and other yield-stress materials show a viscosity bifurcation: below a critical stress their viscosity rises until they stop flowing; just above it, it falls and the flow accelerates, abruptly, like an avalanche.
paper · fascia · models
2002
Immediate effects of various physical therapeutic modalities on cervical myofascial pain and trigger-point sensitivity
Hou CR, Tsai LC, Cheng KF et al. · Arch Phys Med Rehabil 83:1406-14
Ischaemic compression eased trigger-point pain either at low pressure held 90 s or at higher pressure held 30 s: pressure and time trade.
paper · trigger points
2002
Relationship of acupuncture points and meridians to connective tissue planes
Langevin HM, Yandow JA · Anat Rec 269:257-65
Eighty percent of acupuncture points, and half the meridian intersections, lie on connective-tissue planes.
paper · acupuncture · fascia
2002
The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā
Svātmārāma (15th c.); tr. Brian Dana Akers · YogaVidya.com
Breath, the nāḍīs, and — in its fourth chapter — the piercing of the three granthis: Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra.
text · traditions · breath · contemplative
2001
Inhibitory effect of dry needling on the spontaneous electrical activity recorded from myofascial trigger spots of rabbit skeletal muscle
Chen JT, Chung KC, Hou CR et al. · Am J Phys Med Rehabil 80:729-35
Dry needling that elicited local twitch responses cut the spontaneous electrical activity of rabbit trigger spots to about half.
paper · trigger points · animals
2001
Rheology of sodium hyaluronate under physiological conditions
Krause WE, Bellomo EG, Colby RH · Biomacromolecules 2:65-9
Hyaluronan in physiological saline stays a Newtonian liquid over a wide range of shear rates, with no sign of gel formation without protein.
paper · fascia · models
2001
Nitric oxide and neurally mediated regulation of skin blood flow during local heating
Minson CT, Berry LT, Joyner MJ · J Appl Physiol (1985) 91:1619-26
Local heating of the skin raises its blood flow to most of its maximum, through a fast axon reflex and a slower nitric-oxide response; a nerve block does not change it.
paper · vessels
2001
Differential control of sympathetic outflow
Morrison SF · Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 281:R683-98
The sympathetic system is not one global switch: a review of tissue-specific output channels that can be activated or inhibited in combination.
paper · vessels · nerve
2001
The neurophysiology of myofascial pain syndrome
Rivner MH · Curr Pain Headache Rep 5:432-40
Review of trigger-point neurophysiology, including the rabbit work in which the alpha-blocker phentolamine reduces spontaneous activity.
paper · trigger points
2001
Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists
Thomas W. Myers · Churchill Livingstone (4th ed. 2020)
Continuous lines of myofascia across the body — modern “meridians”.
book · fascia
2000
Evaluation of glycosaminoglycans levels in normal joint fluid of the knee
Nakayama Y, Shirai Y, Yoshihara K et al. · J Nippon Med Sch 67:92-5
Normal knee joint fluid in healthy young adults holds 3.4 mg/ml of hyaluronan: tens to hundreds of times the fascia's.
paper · fascia
1999
Perturbed equilibrium of myosin binding in airway smooth muscle and its implications in bronchospasm
Fredberg JJ, Inouye DS, Mijailovich SM et al. · Am J Respir Crit Care Med 159:959-67
The breath keeps airway smooth muscle from freezing: tidal stretch perturbs myosin binding and biases the muscle toward lengthening; without it the muscle virtually freezes at its static length.
paper · breath · models
1998
Self-sustained firing of human motor units
Gorassini MA, Bennett DJ, Yang JF · Neurosci Lett 247:13-6
Self-sustained firing measured in people: a motor unit recruited by a brief input (tendon vibration) kept firing after the input stopped, with the common drive unchanged.
paper · nerve · models
1998
Pathophysiologic and electrophysiologic mechanisms of myofascial trigger points
Hong CZ, Simons DG · Arch Phys Med Rehabil 79:863-72
Pathophysiological and electrophysiological mechanisms of trigger points; satellites and key points.
paper · trigger points
1998
A Manual of Acupuncture
Peter Deadman, Mazin Al-Khafaji, Kevin Baker · Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications
The standard English point reference, with classical names and indications.
book · traditions · acupuncture
1997
Changes in subcutaneous interstitial fluid pressure, tissue oxygenation, and skin red cell flux during venous congestion plethysmography in men
Christ F, Dellian M, Goetz AE et al. · Microcirculation 4:75-81
Subcutaneous interstitial fluid pressure in the calf, -0.9 mmHg at rest, rose only to about 1.6 mmHg as venous congestion filled the tissue.
paper · vessels
1997
Convective and radiative heat transfer coefficients for individual human body segments
de Dear RJ, Arens E, Hui Z et al. · Int J Biometeorol 40:141-56
How fast skin loses heat: about 4.5 W/m²·K by radiation and 3.4 W/m²·K by convection in still air.
paper · models
1997
Differential activation of sympathetic discharge to skin and skeletal muscle in humans
Vissing SF · Acta Physiol Scand Suppl 639:1-32
In humans, sympathetic outflow to skin and to muscle can be activated in a highly dissociated pattern: central command drives the skin's, feedback from working muscle the muscle's.
paper · vessels · nerve
1996
Friction in airway smooth muscle: mechanism, latch, and implications in asthma
Fredberg JJ, Jones KA, Nathan M et al. · J Appl Physiol (1985) 81:2703-12
Airway smooth muscle stretched as in breathing: the latch is a low-friction contractile state, which may be why a deep breath fails to reopen the airways in asthma.
paper · breath · models
1996
Vasodilatory effect of pulsatile pressure on coronary resistance vessels
Goto M, VanBavel E, Giezeman MJ et al. · Circ Res 79:1039-45
In toned coronary arterioles, a larger pressure pulse at the same mean pressure widens the lumen: the pulse itself dilates, with or without the endothelium.
paper · vessels · animals
1996
Tsongkhapa’s Six Yogas of Naropa
Tsongkhapa; tr. Glenn H. Mullin · Snow Lion
Inner heat and the untying of the channel-knots (rtsa mdud) where the side channels coil around the central channel.
text · traditions · contemplative
1995
Anatomic relation between the rectus capitis posterior minor muscle and the dura mater
Hack GD, Koritzer RT, Robinson WL et al. · Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 20:2484-6
The myodural bridge: a band of tissue from rectus capitis posterior minor to the dura at the base of the skull.
paper · anatomy
1995
Cutaneous vasoconstrictor response induced by inspiratory gasp in relation to sex and age
Lau YT, Liu CF, Tsai CC · Clin Sci (Lond) 89:233-7
A deep inspiratory gasp cuts fingertip skin blood flow by 59–71%, graded with the depth of the breath.
paper · breath · vessels
1995
Plasticity in canine airway smooth muscle
Pratusevich VR, Seow CY, Ford LE · J Gen Physiol 105:73-94
Airway smooth muscle regains its force after a change of length over 5-6 contractions at 5-minute intervals, and its adapted force varies little over a threefold range of length.
paper · models · animals
1995
Progressive improvement in the structure of resistance arteries of hypertensive patients after 2 years of treatment with an angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor. Comparison with effects of a beta-blocker
Schiffrin EL, Deng LY, Larochelle P · Am J Hypertens 8:229-36
Human subcutaneous resistance arteries: the media is 5.2% of the lumen diameter in normotensive people, 7.5-8% in untreated hypertension.
paper · vessels
1994
Modulation of activity in dorsal root ganglion neurons by sympathetic activation in nerve-injured rats
Devor M, Jänig W, Michaelis M · J Neurophysiol 71:38-47
In injured nerves, sympathetic activity changes ectopic firing after a delay of about 14 s; the change peaks 10–20 s later and fades over 20–30 s more.
paper · nerve · animals
1994
Psychophysiological stress and EMG activity of the trapezius muscle
Lundberg U, Kadefors R, Melin B et al. · Int J Behav Med 1:354-70
Mental stress raises the trapezius muscle's electrical activity, with or without a physical load.
paper · mind
1994
Needle electromyographic evaluation of trigger point response to a psychological stressor
McNulty WH, Gevirtz RN, Hubbard DR et al. · Psychophysiology 31:313-6
Mental arithmetic turned up the electrical activity at a trigger point but not at an adjacent control site — the writer has the address.
paper · trigger points · mind
1994
Referred pain of peripheral nerve origin: an alternative to the "myofascial pain" construct
Quintner JL, Cohen ML · Clin J Pain 10:243-51
The alternative: tender points as referred pain of peripheral nerve origin.
paper · critique · nerve
1994
Spatial heterogeneity in normal skin perfusion recorded with laser Doppler imaging and flowmetry
Wårdell K, Braverman IM, Silverman DG et al. · Microvasc Res 48:26-38
Normal skin has high- and low-perfusion spots a few millimetres apart; each spot's perfusion varies over time, but the relative levels between neighbouring spots persist.
paper · vessels · imaging
1993
Ling Shu, or The Spiritual Pivot — chapter 13, “Jing Jin” (the sinew channels)
Anonymous (Han dynasty); tr. Wu Jing-Nuan · The Taoist Center; University of Hawai‘i Press (2002)
The twelve sinew channels, each of which “knots” (結, jié) at bony prominences; treated with heat at the painful spot.
text · traditions · acupuncture
1993
Myofascial trigger points show spontaneous needle EMG activity
Hubbard DR, Berkoff GM · Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 18:1803-7
Spontaneous needle-EMG activity at the trigger-point nidus.
paper · trigger points
1992
The angiosomes of the mammals and other vertebrates
Taylor GI, Minabe T · Plast Reconstr Surg 89:181-215
Across mammals and in humans, the size and density of the cutaneous perforators follow the skin’s mobility: large and sparse where it is mobile, smaller and more densely grouped where it is tethered or fixed.
paper · perforators · anatomy · animals
1992
Arterial anatomy of the face: an analysis of vascular territories and perforating cutaneous vessels
Whetzel TP, Mathes SJ · Plast Reconstr Surg 89:591-603
Small, densely populated perforators supply the front of the face and the scalp; large, sparse ones in predictable places supply the sides of the face.
paper · perforators · anatomy
1991
Physiological mechanisms of temperature biofeedback
Freedman RR · Biofeedback Self Regul 16:95-115
A review: learned finger warming works through a non-neural, beta-adrenergic mechanism rather than through less sympathetic activity; learned cooling works through the sympathetic nerves.
paper · vessels · mind
1991
Pathophysiological mechanisms involved in genesis and spread of muscular tension in occupational muscle pain and in chronic musculoskeletal pain syndromes: a hypothesis
Johansson H, Sojka P · Med Hypotheses 35:196-203
A proposed loop: metabolites of static contraction drive the gamma system and the muscle spindles, raising stiffness and metabolites again, so muscle tension perpetuates itself and spreads to other muscles.
paper · trigger points · nerve
1991
Paraesthesiae and tetany induced by voluntary hyperventilation. Increased excitability of human cutaneous and motor axons
Macefield G, Burke D · Brain 114 ( Pt 1B):527-40
Overbreathing brings tingling in the hands, face and trunk once alveolar carbon dioxide has fallen by about 20 mmHg: peripheral axons grow excitable everywhere.
paper · breath · nerve
1991
Relaxation, [Ca2+]i, and the latch-bridge hypothesis in swine arterial smooth muscle
Rembold CM · Am J Physiol 261:C41-50
In arterial smooth muscle, relaxation is paced by the fall of calcium, not by latch-bridge detachment: the latch holds only while the calcium signal lasts.
paper · vessels · models
1991
Microvascular recruitment in hamster striated muscle: role for conducted vasodilation
Segal SS · Am J Physiol 261:H181-9
A dilation started at the end of a terminal arteriole with no flow was conducted more than 1 mm upstream into its parent, and blood flowed into the capillaries it fed.
paper · vessels · animals
1990
Structure and function of small arteries
Mulvany MJ, Aalkjaer C · Physiol Rev 70:921-61
Small arteries, below about 500 µm, actively regulate peripheral resistance: the size class of most perforators.
paper · vessels
1990
The American College of Rheumatology 1990 Criteria for the Classification of Fibromyalgia. Report of the Multicenter Criteria Committee
Wolfe F, Smythe HA, Yunus MB et al. · Arthritis Rheum 33:160-72
The eighteen tender points of the 1990 fibromyalgia criteria.
paper · history
1989
Effects of attention on the intensity and unpleasantness of thermal pain
Miron D, Duncan GH, Bushnell CM · Pain 39:345-352
Attending to a painful heat stimulus makes it more intense and more unpleasant; attending elsewhere makes it less.
paper · mind
1989
Propagation of vasomotor responses coordinates arteriolar resistances
Segal SS, Damon DN, Duling BR · Am J Physiol 256:H832-7
Dilations and constrictions started on an arteriole propagate along its wall both ways, decaying with a length constant of about 1.9 mm; those started on daughter vessels enter the parent and sum there.
paper · vessels · animals
1988
Nonneural beta-adrenergic vasodilating mechanism in temperature biofeedback
Freedman RR, Sabharwal SC, Ianni P et al. · Psychosom Med 50:394-401
Learned finger warming with temperature feedback was blocked by propranolol infused in that arm only, and not by blocking the finger's nerves.
paper · vessels · mind
1988
Cross-bridge phosphorylation and regulation of latch state in smooth muscle
Hai CM, Murphy RA · Am J Physiol 254:C99-106
The latch-bridge model: dephosphorylated cross-bridges that hold smooth-muscle tension cheaply.
paper · vessels · models
1988
Anatomical structure of acupoints
Heine H · J Tradit Chin Med 8:207-12
About 80% of classical acupoints coincide with perforations of the superficial fascia by a vessel–nerve bundle.
paper · acupuncture · perforators
1987
The vascular territories (angiosomes) of the body: experimental study and clinical applications
Taylor GI, Palmer JH · Br J Plast Surg 40:113-41
The arterial road map of the body: ~40 source-artery territories and an average of 374 major perforators per subject. “Arteries follow closely the connective tissue framework of the body.”
paper · perforators · anatomy
1987
The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as Taught by S. N. Goenka
William Hart · Harper & Row
Saṅkhāras felt as solidified sensations that dissolve under equanimous attention.
book · traditions · contemplative
1986
The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu · Routledge & Kegan Paul; Snow Lion (2000)
Dzogchen from the inside, including the rainbow body.
book · traditions · contemplative
1986
Flow control among microvessels coordinated by intercellular conduction
Segal SS, Duling BR · Science 234:868-70
A dilation started at one point on an arteriole propagates along its wall, upstream, independently of flow.
paper · vessels
1984
Intramuscular fluid pressure during isometric contraction of human skeletal muscle
Sejersted OM, Hargens AR, Kardel KR et al. · J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol 56:287-95
Pressure inside a contracting muscle rises linearly with its force, and with the distance from its fascia: it is least at the fascia.
paper · anatomy
1983
Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual
Janet G. Travell, David G. Simons · Williams & Wilkins (2nd ed. 1999, with Lois S. Simons)
The atlas of trigger points and referred-pain patterns.
book · trigger points · history
1983
Awaken Healing Energy Through the Tao
Mantak Chia · Aurora Press
A modern practical manual of the microcosmic orbit.
book · traditions · contemplative
1982
Critical closing pressure, local perfusion pressure, and the failing skin flap
Cutting C, Ballantyne D, Shaw W et al. · Ann Plast Surg 8:504-9
Skin flaps show the critical closing phenomenon: blood does not flow until perfusion pressure passes a threshold set in part by vascular smooth muscle tone.
paper · vessels · perforators
1981
Effects of graded compression on intraneural blood blow. An in vivo study on rabbit tibial nerve
Rydevik B, Lundborg G, Bagge U · J Hand Surg Am 6:3-12
Pressure on a nerve slows the blood leaving it at 20–30 mmHg, the blood entering it at 40–50, and stops all flow within it at 60–80.
paper · nerve · animals
1979
Arteriolar closure mediated by hyperresponsiveness to norepinephrine in hypertensive rats
Bohlen HG · Am J Physiol 236:H157-64
Arterioles held closed by nerves: cutting them opened 22% more third-order arterioles in normal rats.
paper · vessels · animals
1979
The active tension-length curve of vascular smooth muscle related to its cellular components
Mulvany MJ, Warshaw DM · J Gen Physiol 74:85-104
Small arteries' active tension falls with shortening along a line that reaches zero at 0.38 of the optimal circumference: a nearly shut vessel's muscle pulls weakly.
paper · vessels · animals · models
1977
Trigger points and acupuncture points for pain: correlations and implications
Melzack R, Stillwell DM, Fox EJ · Pain 3:3-23
The first systematic comparison: a 71% correspondence between trigger points and acupuncture points for pain.
paper · acupuncture · trigger points · history
1975
Microvascular pressure distribution in skeletal muscle and the effect of vasodilation
Fronek K, Zweifach BW · Am J Physiol 228:791-6
Microvascular pressures measured directly: in arterioles of 70 µm and wider, pressure tracks systemic arterial pressure.
paper · vessels · animals
1975
Vibration-induced inhibition of vascular smooth muscle contraction
Ljung B, Sivertsson R · Blood Vessels 12:38-52
Rhythmic stretch of vascular smooth muscle cuts its active force at once, by an amount set by the stretch's size and rate; even the pulse may ease arterial tone.
paper · vessels · animals
1970
Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality
Lu K’uan Yü (Charles Luk) · Rider
The microcosmic orbit, and the patience it asks for.
text · traditions · contemplative
1967
Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man
Gopi Krishna · Ramadhar & Hopman; Shambhala (1970)
A first-person account of an awakening gone wrong, and its long recovery.
book · traditions · contemplative · safety
1952
The myofascial genesis of pain
TRAVELL J, RINZLER SH · Postgrad Med 11:425-34
The first maps of myofascial referred-pain patterns.
paper · trigger points · history
1951
On the physical equilibrium of small blood vessels
Burton AC · Am J Physiol 164:319-29
Why a small vessel can snap shut: with active tension in its wall, Laplace's law leaves it no stable open state below a critical pressure.
paper · vessels · models
1951
Fundamental instability of the small blood vessels and critical closing pressures in vascular beds
Nichol J, Girling F, Jerrard W et al. · Am J Physiol 164:330-44
The companion measurements: whole vascular beds stop flowing at a critical closing pressure, the instability Burton predicted.
paper · vessels · models
1948
Inspiratory vaso-constriction in patients after spinal injuries
Gilliatt RW, Guttmann L, Whitteridge D · J Physiol 107:67-75
The inspiratory vasoconstriction reflex studied after spinal injury — the pathway runs through the sympathetic outflow.
paper · vessels · breath
1946
Autobiography of a Yogi
Paramahansa Yogananda · Philosophical Library
The Kriya Yoga lineage, and its account of breath and the life-force.
book · traditions · contemplative
1936
Vaso-constriction following deep inspiration
Bolton B, Carmichael EA, Stürup G · J Physiol 86:83-94
The inspiratory gasp reflex: a deep breath constricts the skin’s vessels within seconds.
paper · vessels · breath
1931
The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life
Richard Wilhelm (tr.), with a commentary by C. G. Jung · Kegan Paul (German edition 1929)
Circulating the light: the Daoist meditation text that reached the West through Jung.
text · traditions · contemplative
1919
The Serpent Power: The Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa and Pādukā-pañcaka
Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) · Luzac & Co.
The classic English source on the cakras, the nāḍīs and kuṇḍalinī’s ascent through the knots.
text · traditions · contemplative
c. 400 BCE
Mucalinda Sutta (Udāna 2.1)
Pāli Canon · Khuddaka Nikāya
After the awakening, a storm; the nāga king Mucalinda coils around the seated Buddha and spreads his hood above the head.
text · traditions · contemplative
c. 400 BCE
Sāmaññaphala Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 2) — the fruits of the contemplative life
Pāli Canon · Dīgha Nikāya
The similes of the jhānas: rapture and pleasure suffusing the whole body, as water kneaded into a ball of bath powder soaks it through.
text · traditions · contemplative

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