What Sparked The Western Interest In Acupuncture?

British doctors visited hospitals in Peking, Shanghai, Canton and Nanking in 1971. They related remarkable evidence of effective acupuncture use in major surgery, even brain surgery. In one case, the London Times reported, "it is claimed that no one could have borne the pain of this particular treatment without some form of anaesthetic." Yet, only acupuncture was used.

The first Americans to observe the use of acupuncture in China were two biologists. In May of 1971, Dr. Ethan Signer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. Arthur Galston of Yale University watched four operations there. Acupuncture was the anesthetic.

They returned to the United States excited over the ability of acupuncture to deaden pain. Dr. Galston stated: "I had always associated acupuncture in my mind—as most Americans do—with a far-out, charlatan procedure." But what he saw changed his mind. The two biologists suggested that acupuncture deserved more study, and noted that its effects as an anesthetic lasted many hours.