An examination of the relationship between five oriental musical tones and corresponding internal organs and meridians.

The Yellow Emperor's Internal Medicine (Nei-Jing) describes the relationship between five internal organs corresponding to five different meridians and five oriental musical tones such as Gung (spleen), Sang (liver), Gak (liver), Chi (heart), Wu (kidney). However, there has been little research to test this relationship. The purpose of this study was to determine this relationship through applying sound stimulation for 60 seconds, comprising various frequencies produced on an electric organ(Gung: 261.6 Hz; Sang: 293.7 Hz; Gak: 329.6 Hz Chi: 392.0 Hz and Wu: 440.0 Hz), to 20 healthy adults by stimulating their ears (via headphones), skin (via speakers) and both. A significant relationship was found between the tones and the meridians as they are described in Nei-Jing. The greatest response rates were found in the following corresponding organic and musical tones: spleen/Gung, lung/Sang, liver/Gak, heart/Chi, and kidney/Wu. The traditional descriptions of Yellow Emperor's Nei-Jing are therefore consistent with the findings of this study. Further basic research may lead to the application of clinically appropriate tones in an acoustically suitable room following oriental medical diagnosis.