The anatomical notions of the Chinese are very erroneous;[27] their ideas on the functions of the human body and of human life in general, differ considerably from ours. They recognize two natural principles of vitality, one they call _yang_ (vital, primordial, or “innate heat”), the other _yn_ (radical moisture). The spirits (that is the air) and the blood serve as vehicles to these two essential principles of life; that is, vital heat and radical moisture. The constant equilibrium, the accord, the perfect union of these two essential principles of life constitute a state of health. From their alteration, corruption, or disunion originate all diseases. There are twelve principal sources of vitality in the human organism; that is, twelve organs from which the two aforesaid vital principles are distributed throughout the body: The heart, the liver, the two kidneys, the lungs, and the spleen are the seat and origin of radical moisture; the large and the small intestine, the two ureters, the gall-bladder, and the stomach are the seat and origin of vital heat. These twelve sources of life are in intimate relation with one another by means of the canals of communication, through which the blood and the vital spirits (air) circulate, carrying with them into every part of the body vital heat and radical moisture.[28] The points of election upon which to carry out puncturing are situated along the course of the large lines of communication and transmission; and that explains, according to the Chinese medical theories, why a puncture carried out on a given point of the body can prove useful in relieving a variety of maladies even in distant parts of the organism. Puncturing is almost always associated with cauterization, for after having drawn out the needle, it is usual to cauterize the site of the puncture with the so-called “_moxa_,” that is, with a kind of vegetable wool obtained from the leaves and dried tips of the artemisia. One compresses this substance very tightly between the fingers into the shape of a small cone. One next applies a small coin with a hole in the centre upon the site of election; the cone of moxa is placed on the hole in the coin and lighted at its top. As the cone is very compact, it burns slowly enough, without developing excessive heat, so that, according to Ten Rhyne,[29] who was an enthusiast for this mode of cure, “the epidermis is drawn without violence and rises gently into a small blister. The moxa, whilst burning, draws out the _peccant humors_ visibly, absorbing them in such a manner that they are totally consumed without destroying the skin itself.”