The Relationship Between the San Jiao Meridian, the Cou Li, the Bladder and the San Jiao Organ (aka Sanjiao, Triple Warmer, Triple Heater, Triple Burner and Triple Energiser) Organ Function

What is the Relationship Between the San Jiao Meridian, the San Jiao Function, the Cou Li, and the Bladder? Actually, What is the Cou Li, or the Couli?

Twelve (12) major organs exist in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). One of these 12 organs of TCM is not recognised by Western Medicine. This mysterious organ has many names, including san-jiao, sanjiao, triple heater, triple burner, triple energizer, three heaters, tri-heater, triple warmer, and the three burning spaces. This Triple Energizer has been cloaked in mystery for thousands of years, even among TCM practitioners. Many TCM practitioners believe that it is NOT even an organ as such, but constitutes a series of multifaceted biological and biochemical functions that happen throughout the entire body. I prefer to call this unique omnipresent organ complex the Triple-Energizer Metasystem. Note that all practitioners of TCM, e.g. acupuncturists fully accept that many Acupoints on the Sanjiao channel (Sanjiao 5, Sanjiao 6, Sanjiao 3 and Sanjiao 17) are very influential.

The following are excerpts from the book The ‘Mystical’ TCM Triple Energizer. Its Elusive Location and Morphology Defined. This original book is full of intriguing information that endorses that ancient authors of many traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) classics were fully aware of anatomical infrastructure that is only now being discovered by modern research. This easy-reading educational book is perfect for anyone wanting to know more about anatomical infrastructure associated with tissue structure throughout the body, and how heavy metal toxins (e.g. arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury) can be eliminated from the body. This enlightening book can be securely purchased by clicking the ‘BUY NOW’ button at the bottom of this page.

I aim to show that this so called ‘fu of uniqueness’, the Triple-Energizer Metasystem is a truly unique organ. It is truly omnipresent throughout the entire body right down to the minute spaces (couli) dispersed throughout our body which extend down to the minute pores in our skin. We can wipe our fingers as much as we want, but we still leave a fine film of our oily individuality on everything we touch, called our fingerprints. This oily liquid is a product of our Triple-Energizer Metasystem. In spite of massive research into our anatomical makeup, the superficial layer of the human body is still not well understood by researchers. I discuss this below. Actually, the extreme variation of the superficial fascial system throughout the body means it has no form. As I propose that the Connective-Tissue Metasystem is intimately related to the Triple-Energizer Metasystem, it is no wonder that the ancient medical text, the Nan Ching, likewise said the San Jiao has no form. 

The TCM terminology couli exactly describes the highly structured network system of li-textures and cou-spaces which is distributed throughout the entire body. This ubiquitous couli arrangement thereby connects upper and lower, external and internal, shallow and deep within the entire body. It is because of this microstructure of the Triple Energizer that TCM teaches that ‘The flesh and muscles belong to the Spleen, whilst the skin and soft body hair, at the most external layer of the body, belong to the Lung.’ Pertaining to the functional aspect of the Triple Energizer which was to eliminate toxins from the body, ancient Chinese medical scholars believed that sweat is derived from the blood, and that sweating is nature’s way of eliminating toxins from the blood and the body safely through the very large surface area of the skin. I explain in my book how modern science has only recently confirmed that is exactly true. Read the research details below.

14.1 The Superficial Layer of the Human Body Is Still Not Well Understood by Researchers

Regarding the Cou Li, in the 2011 article entitled ‘The Fascia: The Forgotten Structure’, authors Carla Stecco et al. (45), on page 128, state, ‘The superficial fascia (or membranous layer of the hypodermis) is still an object of debate; some authors even admit the existence of a membranous layer separating the subcutaneous tissue into two sublayers; others exclude it; and yet others describe multiple such layers.’

This article was published as recently as 2011. So incredibly, even the most commonly investigated superficial connective-tissue layer of the human body is not well understood by medical researchers. Imagine what is yet to be uncovered by researchers about the deeper and more complicated fascial structures and complexes that make up the Connective-Tissue Metasystem!

14.2 Extreme Variation of the Superficial Fascia throughout the Body Means It Has No Form

With regard to the superficial fascia located throughout the body, in the 2011 article entitled ‘The Fascia: The Forgotten Structure’, authors Carla Stecco et al. (45), on page 129, state: Its arrangement and thickness vary according to body region, body surface, and gender. It is thicker in the lower than in the upper extremities, on the posterior rather than the anterior aspect of the body, and in females more than in males. Our studies have also revealed the constant presence of a membranous layer of connective tissue of variable thickness inside the subcutaneous tissue, dividing it into superficial (SAT) and deep adipose tissue (DAT). (Emphasis is mine)

Because of its extreme variability relating to arrangement and thickness depending on body region, body surface, and gender, this fascia could easily be described as having no form. As I propose that the Connective-Tissue Metasystem is intimately related to the Triple-Energizer Metasystem, it is no wonder that the ancient medical text, the Nan Ching, likewise said the San Jiao has no form.

14.8 In Ancient Times, Jiao Meant Cavities, Spaces, or Gaps, Both Large and Small

The small cou spaces may well include tubular conduits within the Connective-Tissue Metasystem that carry the many different fluids (yuan qi, zhen qi, wei qi, etc.) throughout the body. Perhaps the cou spaces involves the Primo Vascular System, which is known to be a highly complex system composed of hollow microtubules that do carry various complex fluids throughout the entire body ‘and form a cohesive network interconnecting the zangfu and their associated tissues including muscles, flesh and the skin’. I have discussed this recent scientific finding in great detail elsewhere in this book.

14.9 The Original Meaning of the Chinese Word Li Is ‘Network’

Subsequently, the terminology couli exactly describes the highly structured network system which is distributed throughout the entire body. The authors state, ‘The li-textures, their associations and distribution, thereby connect upper and lower, external and internal, shallow and deep. The cou, the spaces, are located between the body tissues and their textures: their existence is dependent on this association.’

With this in mind, my proposal makes perfect sense as the small cou spaces or hollow tubular conduits within the Connective-Tissue Metasystem would carry the many different fluids throughout the entire body due to the li network of the cou tubules with their highly complex and extremely ordered structure, which would ‘thereby connect upper and lower, external and internal, shallow and deep’ due to the highly-organized infrastructure of the cou-li.

14.12 Body Tissue Types and Zangfu Relationships Engender Couli Networks

The book (7), on page 31, states there is a ‘close relation between the (PVS) and the fascia’. I propose that the PVS throughout the entire body will be found to be intimately associated with and directly or indirectly connected to the omnipresent Connective-Tissue Metasystem, and I propose that this amalgamation is synonymous with the Triple-Energizer Metasystem. I further believe that the PVS will be found to be responsible for body tissue types and zangfu relationships as per the example given by Qu Lifang and Mary Garvey (43) above, where they stated, ‘The flesh and muscles belong to the Spleen, whilst the skin and soft body hair, at the most external layer of the body, belong to the Lung.’

14.13 The Triple Energizer–Couli Network Extends to the Ultimate Exterior Extremity

I suggest that the couli extend right down to our pores, where the oily liquid material is constantly oozing from our skin. For example, we can wipe our fingers as much as we want, but we continue to leave a fine film of our individuality on everything we touch, called our fingerprints. Even the residue of our fingerprints is secreted through our most superficial couli, thanks to our omnipresent Triple-Energizer Metasystem. Again with every breath, we exhale moisture, carbon dioxide, some 14% oxygen, alcohol (if we have had some as drink), personal chemicals emitted from our mouth flora, and volatile food components (for example, from garlic or peppermint). Some dogs and cats have been known to detect that individuals have medical conditions, including cancer, from the exhaled breath of the individual. Other cats and dogs are known to detect that a person is close to death from their breath. So chemical markers for disease and death are also present on our breath, thanks to the distribution function of the Triple Energizer. Our constantly slightly moist breath is a representation of the mist from the Lungs within our Upper Heater, thanks to the ubiquitous presence of the Triple Energizer. Due to water diffusing across the moist surfaces of breathing passages and alveoli in the Lungs, exhaled air has a relative humidity of 100%. So along with urine removed through the Bladder and sweat secreted through the couli (pores) in our skin, we also regulate water balance through our exhaled breath and also in our feces.

14.18 Body Toxins Are Collected in the Chin Liquid and the Blood and Eliminated in Sweat

I believe that this is the case and that the sweat is designed to eliminate toxic matter through the skin as it is more toxic and more acidic than other chin liquids. Because the ancient Chinese medical scholars believed that sweat is derived from the blood, I trust that the ancient medical scholars were aware that sweating is nature’s way of eliminating toxins from the blood and the body safely through the very large surface area of the skin. But is there any scientific proof that this ancient belief is actually true? Researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ontario, Canada, performed a meta-analysis of 24 studies on toxicant levels in sweat. The findings were published in the Journal of Public and Environmental Health in the article entitled ‘Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury in Sweat: A Systematic Review’. Ji (47) reported that the researchers made the following observations:

• In individuals with higher exposure or body burden, sweat generally exceeded plasma or urine concentrations, and dermal could match or surpass urinary daily excretion.
• Arsenic dermal excretion was several-fold higher in arsenic exposed individuals than in unexposed controls.
• Cadmium was more concentrated in sweat than in blood plasma.
• Sweat lead was associated with high-molecular-weight molecules, and in an interventional study, levels were higher with endurance compared with intensive exercise.
• Mercury levels normalized with repeated saunas in a case report.
• The researchers concluded, ‘Sweating deserves consideration for toxic element detoxification.’

This research confirmed that blood and urine analyses fail to reveal the true extent of loading of toxic heavy metals within the body. Modern science and western allopathic medicine is only now catching up with these common-sense observations utilized by complementary medical practitioners for a long time.

Recent research (2011, 2012) proves that sweating instigates more than simply a cooling function for the body. The research proved that sweating positively eliminates heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury) and ubiquitous toxic petrochemicals, including bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalate compounds, both of which are endocrine disruptors. Sweat can concentrate arsenic up to 10 times more than blood, cadmium up to 25 times more than blood, lead up to 300 times more than blood, and mercury somewhat more than blood, leading to effective elimination. Thus, it can be seen that the couli in the form of sweat glands have an important role of keeping the blood clean and protecting the body by eliminating toxic heavy metals and petrochemicals, which are excreted through the skin in the sweat.

REFERENCES:

(7) Soh, K. S., K. A. Kang, D. K. Harrison, The Primo Vascular System: Its Role in Cancer and Regeneration (Springer, 2012).

(45) Stecco, C., V. Macchi, A. Porzionato A, F. Duparc, R. DeCaro, ‘The Fascia: The Forgotten Structure’, Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology, 116/3 (2011), 127–38.

(47) Ji, S., ‘Research Confirms Sweating Detoxifies Dangerous Metals, Petrochemicals’ (updated 21 January 2015). Available from <http://www.theartofhealing.com.au/research_research_confirms. html?utm_source=21+January+2015+Weekly+e-Alert&utm_campaign=21+January+2015&utm_medium=email>.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I wish to sincerely thank Dr Paul U. Unschuld for the selfless and tireless work he has committed to make many ancient Chinese medical classics available in English for study and research. My book is based predominantly around his scholarly work ‘Nan-Ching: The Classic of Difficult Issues’. I also wish to sincerely thank Professor Unschuld for permission to use citations of his translation in my book. His translation of ‘Nan-Ching: The Classic of Difficult Issues’ can be purchased from the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Nan-ching_The-Classic-Difficult-Comparative-Studies/dp/0520053729

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