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Net

络 〔絡〕 luò

Also connect. To link; of channels, to link up with the exterior organ corresponding to the governing viscus, e.g., the hand greater yīn (tài yīn) lung channel nets the large intestine.

Etymology

Chinese:luò, net, connect. Chinese medicine uses many different terms conveying a general idea of connection. Their usage suggests differences in meaning. The character 络 is used to mean the network vessels (variously called collaterals and connecting vessels in English) and reflects how the network vessels link all parts of the whole body in a mesh. In the context of channel-organ connections, it seems to imply a diffuse connection by contrast to homing (属 shǔ), which implies a direct connection. Since the channel-network system has not been charted by modern scientific methods, the precise meaning of the term is unclear.

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