Traditional Chinese Medicine beliefs

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is based on a pre-scientific paradigm of medicine that developed over several thousand years and involves concepts that have no counterpart within contemporary medicine.TCM is based in part on Daoism, with a belief that all parts of the universe are interconnected.

Qi, acupuncture meridians and points
According to the Chinese medical classic the Neijing Suwen, disease is believed to be produced by a failure to live in accord with the Dao. Within the more systematized teachings of received Chinese medicine there are endogenous, exogenous and miscellaneous causes of disease. In science-based medicine, disease is attributed to specific (often single) causes, for example bacteria, viruses, or genetic conditions. In contrast to the approach of evidence-based medicine which is based on the germ theory of disease, human anatomy and human physiology, Traditional Chinese Medicine attributes disease and pathology to perturbations in the metaphysical force known as qi (a word variously translated as "energy", "breath", or "vital energy"', and imbalance of yin and yang, and the Wu Xing (known as the five phases or elements, earth, water, fire, wood and metal). Qi is believed to flow in and around the body in channels called meridians. Heart-qi is believed to be a force that causes the blood to circulate through the body, whereas in science-based medicine, the blood is propelled by the heart pumping it. Modern practioners may consider qi to be no more than a metaphor for function, but many proponents consider it to be an actual 'substance'. Research on the electrical activity of acupuncture points lacks a standardized methodology and reporting protocols, and is generally of poor quality.
No force corresponding to qi (or yin and yang) has been found in the sciences of physics or human physiology. Support for the existence of qi is often looked for in scientific fields such as bioelectricity but this research is rarely verified and the connection with qi may be spurious.

The location of meridians is said in the Ling Shu to be based on the number of rivers flowing through the ancient Chinese empire, and acupuncture points were originally derived from Chinese astrological calculations. and do not correspond to any anatomical structure. "It is because of the twelve Primary channels that people live, that disease is formed, that people are treated and disease arises.". Channel theory reflects the limitations in the level of scientific development at the time of its formation, and therefore reflects the philosophical idealism and metaphysics of its period. That which has continuing clinical value needs to be reexamined through practice and research to determine its true nature.
The anatomical system of TCM divides the body's organs into "hollow" and "solid" organs, for example, the intestines are "hollow", and the heart or liver are "solid". It is believed that solid organs are related, and hollow organs are related, and that there is a balance between the two "systems" of organs which is important to health. The zang systems are associated with the solid yin organs such as the liver, while the fu systems are associated with the hollow yang organs such as the intestines. Health is explained as a state of balance between the yin and yang, with disease ascribed to either of these forces being unbalanced, blocked or stagnant.

It is believed that through birth or early childhood, a “weakness” in one of the five elements develops until it impedes the flow of qi cycling throughout the body, causing the symptoms of illness. Acupuncture is described as manipulating the qi to restore balance. TCM also links the organs of the body to the stars, planets and astrological beliefs to explain the phenomena of the persistence of health and illness in the human body.