acupuncture , technique of traditional Chinese medicine, in which a number of very fine metal needles are inserted into the skin at specially designated points. For thousands of years acupuncture has been used, along with herbal medicine, for pain relief and treatment of various ailments. It has often been combined with moxabustion, the burning of leaves of moxa, the Chinese wormwood tree. Today it is widely used in China in the treatment of hay fever, headaches, and ulcers, and some types of blindness, arthritis, diarrhea, and hypertension. Acupuncture is also used, especially in China, as a... Read more