Consider these facts:

* Within 45 minutes of the insertion of a single needle in the elbow region, sufficient anesthetic effect will make it possible to perform lung surgery on a fully conscious patient.

* In the event of a breach birth, an acupuncturist can warm the mother's baby toes with burning herbs (moxibustion) until the baby repositions itself for a safe delivery.

* On the elbow, centimeters from the acupoint that provides anesthesia for thoracic surgery, is a point highly effective for constipation.

How on earth were these things discovered? Who looks for these things?

The history of acupuncture is said to be thousands of years old; the number of thousands depends on the boldness and imagination of the author you read, but present Chinese authorities date it back to the "clan commune period," which they date before 2000 B.C.E.

No one really knows how the acupoints came to be discovered, but it's safe to say that trial and error as well as close observation were key factors. Once the connection had been made between injury in one part of the body and healing in another, centuries of observation began to reveal patterns.

Basic to Oriental medicine is the concept of qi (pronounced "chee," "ki" in Japanese). Ancient Chinese texts assert that "qi is the fundamental substance constituting the universe, and all phenomena are produced by the changes and movement of qi." One important idea within Oriental medicine is that the human body is a microcosm of the larger macrocosm, which the basis for the strong connection between Oriental medicine and the increasingly popular feng shui.

In the simplest terms, qi is simply "energy." Oriental medical practitioners assert that qi flows in distinct streams or "meridians" within the body. Autopsy shows no evidence of any such meridians, which leads many Western medical practitioners to disregard and discredit acupuncture as "unscientific."

Whatever the anatomical basis, however, Oriental medical experience indicates that the meridians are distinct, predictable and highly reliable. The main pathways are referred to as the 14 meridians, which run longitudinally within the body.

Twelve of the meridians are directly linked to, and named after, the organs: the lungs, heart, large intestine, small intestine, spleen, liver, kidneys, stomach, gallbladder, bladder and the nonanatomical sanjiao and pericardium (which is classed as an "organ" and is unrelated to the anatomical membranous sac that encloses the heart). These run symmetrically on the right and left sides of the body. In addition there are the ren and du meridians which run along the midlines of the body front and back.

Meridians are the body's transportation system. They are the channels along which qi flows, and it is along them that the 365 acupoints are found. As long as the blood and qi are flowing smoothly, the body is healthy. Although the body can compensate for some time, when blockages persist, disease will follow.

It is important to remember that acupuncture is not a substitute for Western medicine where that is called for. If your leg is broken, your appendix bursts or you are suffering from any kind of acute infection, the emergency room of your local hospital is the place for you.

While you are recovering, however, acupuncture can prove invaluable in facilitating the healing process. It can also help patients tolerate some of the painful treatments required by serious illness such as cancer. More and more it is being used in conjunction with conventional Western medicine.

Outgrowing the idea that it is best limited to sports medicine or pain management, acupuncture is being turned to for such diverse illnesses as asthma, epilepsy and gastrointestinal ailments.

In Britain it is becoming an option in some maternity wards for women who don't wish to use prescription drugs or painkillers that they fear may affect the fetus. Acupuncture is used as a nondrug alternative. Stroke patients are also particularly responsive to acupuncture.

Acupuncture is just as effective on animals as it is on humans. There is big business in treating top racehorses that, like top athletes, are also submitted to drug tests. Acupuncture is a first-choice option in keeping the animals drug-free and in top form. It is also becoming much more available in veterinary practice for household pets.

Acupuncture is safer than most over-the-counter medicines and has fewer side effects. Today's patients can draw upon the wisdom and experience of centuries upon centuries of "clinical trials."

Most people's fears center on the needles themselves. Their experience is usually only with Western medicine's painful hypodermic needles, which are thick enough to allow for the passage of medicines. Acupuncture needles are nowhere near as thick. In fact, in Japan, most needles are barely thicker than a human hair and require the use of an outer tube to prevent the needle from bending with pressure -- so thin that they are quite painless.

These days, most needles are disposable. Others are sterilized in autoclaves as are surgical instruments in hospitals. If you have any doubts about needles, procedures or any other aspects of an acupuncture treatment, do not hesitate to discuss them with your acupuncturist before your visit. Acupuncturists know that a treatment is always more effective when the patient is relaxed and the mind is at rest.

The Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine has a branch in Tokyo with courses, offered in both English and Japanese, that can lead to international licensing.