2
1 Introduction
1.1
Historical Overview
1.1.1 Origins of Auricular Acupuncture
■ In China, the first mention of auricular acupuncture in literature is in the 1
st
century
BC. The
Huangdi Neijing
(The Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor) mentions connec-
tions between the auricle and certain areas of the body. Twenty anterior and posterior
auricular points were known by the time of the
Tang
dynasty (618–907 AD).
■ In Persia and Egypt auricular acupuncture was already in use for pain relief and con-
traception 2000 years ago.
■ In the 4
th
century
Hippocrates
recognized that it was possible to treat ailments via the
ear. He tried to cure impotence through bloodletting on the ear.
■ In Europe, references about the use of auricular acupuncture date back to only the 17
th
century. In the famous painting ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ by
Hieronymus Bosch
cor-
respondences between the auricle and various areas of the body are recognizable in the
symbolic depiction of hell.
■ In 1637
Zacatus Lusitanus
describes the cauterisation of a part of the ear for the treat-
ment of sciatica, while in 1717
Valsalva
outlines the same procedure for tooth ache.
■ Following a report by Dr. Luciana Bastia (France) about the treatment of sciatica by
means of cauterisation in the 19
th
century there are further publications about similar
successful treatment by other physicians. At the same time similar developments take
place in Italy (Prof Ignaz Colla, Parma) and in America (Dr Rülker, Cincinnati).
In contrast to body acupuncture, auricular acupuncture was not further developed in China
in the following centuries. It was only after the publications of the French physician Paul No-
gier in 1957 that auricular acupuncture once again became the focus of interest for doctors
of traditional Chinese medicine. Nogier’s discoveries soon reached China and led to the de-
velopment of the Chinese school of auricular acupuncture.
1.1.2 French School
Auricular acupuncture has been systematically researched only since 1950 – initially by Paul
Nogier. He had noticed scars on the ears of some of his Arabic patients. They had been cau-
terized in the area of the antihelix as a form of treatment for lower back pain or sciatica, re-
sulting in pain relief within minutes to a few hours. At first, Nogier tried cauterisation him-
self but later replaced this method by inserting needles, which also led to positive results
without causing permanent scars. It took him a further three years to recognise the relation-
ship between the spine and its inverse projection on the antihelix.
Subsequently, Nogier discovered that all organs of the human body are represented on the
ear. In 1956, at a lecture given in Marseille, he presented this new treatment method under
the name ‘auriculothérapie’. This lecture was translated into German by Gerhard Bachmann
and published in 1957 in the ‘Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur’.
In 1968 Nogier accidentally discovered a change in the quality of the pulse when examining
locations on the ear corresponding to pathological areas of the patient’s body. A systematic
investigation of this phenomenon showed that stimulating disturbed areas of the ear resulted
in a characteristic change of the pulse. Nogier interpreted this reaction as a polysynaptic re-
