I would appreciate information regarding any anatomic relationship of the triple burner/tri-focus meridian. I have not seen a satisfactory explanation of it. All the other regular meridians seem to "connect" to an organ or organ system. As a relatively new medical acupuncturist I am left with a question mark regarding this mysterious meridian.
Comment by Archived User
There is nothing mysterious about the San Jiao (triple burner) organ. What the Chinese were describing was actually the pleural and peritoneal membrane tissues that enfold the organs of the thoracic and abdominal cavities (excluding the pericardium). The Chinese viewed this as a separate organ.
Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
I'll try to write more on this subject when I have time but I would provide a general caution into thinking too linearly about the pattern/meridian to organ relationship. The actual physical organs often have a marginal at best relationship to the meridian functions/diagnostic patterns. For example, the "kidney" meridian and/or pattern has more relationships with the adrenals, thyroid and certain aspects of our nervous system arguably than the actual kidney or bladder. The "bladder" meridian has far more control over the head and spine and physical nervous system activity than anything to do with the actual bladder for which it may not even be used.
The "organs", in my mind, are best thought of as collections of coordinated functions in the body that somewhere along the way were given the name of a specific "organ" - so the set of functions grouped and noted as "kidney" might be a better way to describe these relationships. Or "kidney system" instead of just "kidney" which empasizes that it is a set of relationships and bodily functions being discussed not just an organ and it's functions as we understand them in western terms which may not even be related in a true clinical sense. The actual "organ" related to the triple warmer is debatable, but what is not (or less debatable anyhow) is the set of functions that when grouped together can be referenced as the "triple heater system". Used clinically these relationships are what provide for the "magic" of acupuncture. They are what allow us to take what appears to be 5 different unrelated conditions in western medicine and treat them in a cohesive way. Getting too tied to the western physical organ is a recipe for missing this crucial aspect in my opinion.
Comment by Archived User
From the temples, the Triple Warmer meridian goes deep, connecting with the hypothalamus gland, which is now considered the controlling gland for the endocrine system. (Previously first the Pituitary and then the Pineal were thought to play this role). Thus Triple Warmer has a signficant role in all hormone production, including the fight, freeze, or flight response that characterizes a reaction to perceived danger.
I have written a number of practitioner articles about the role of triple warmer and ways to bring it into balance which you can find by searching under my name on this website.
Comment by Archived User
That was really well put, Chad. I've never heard the channel/organ relationship (and more so lack thereof in many instances, as you recognize) described that well before. Thank you.