How do Meridians relate to physical organs?
The meridians are named after the physical organs in the body. However, the meridian does not just relate to the physical organ, but encompasses a whole constellation of meanings based around a particular function. The easiest way to define a meridian is in terms of function. Rather than think of the meridian as a pathway attached to an organ, we should look on the meridian as a concentration of a particular functional energetic quality of the body. Where it reaches its most intense point, there it creates a physical organ to carry out that function. The meridians and their actions were known in China long before the precise physical functions of the internal organs were worked out. So while there are some points of commonality (e.g. the Large Intestine meridian relates to elimination, and the Lung meridian to breathing), the functions and associations of a meridian are generally much broader than those of the organ it is named after. So, for example, if your Shiatsu practitioner tells
