Classical loci in ACUPUNCTURE. They are main and collateral channels, regarded as a network of passages, through which vital energy (qi) circulates and along which acupoints (acupuncture points) are distributed. The meridians are a series of 14 lines upon which more than 400 acupoints are located on the body. (The Pinyin Chinese-English dictionary, p. 359; Dr. Wu Lancheng, Academy of Traditional Chinese medicine, Beijing)