WHY WE USE THE EAR
Understanding the information below is not necessary in order to benefit from SAAT or other forms of ear acupuncture. I offer it, however, for those who want to understand how a body part that most people never think about (the external ear, also called the auricle) can serve as such a priceless diagnostic tool and can exert such a powerful therapeutic effect.
WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE VERY BEGINNING…
In order to understand what is unique about the auricle, we have to go back to look at the earliest stages of development of the human embryo. A human embryo begins as the union of a single egg and a single sperm, which progressively divides to form a multicellular organism as shown in FIGURE 1.
Once the embryo reaches the blastocyst stage, it begins to fold into itself. At this point, the cells begin to differentiate into three different tissue layers as shown in FIGURE 2. It is from these three distinct tissue layers that all body organs and structures are eventually formed.
As the cells continue to organize themselves, a recognizably human embryo forms. At 4 weeks, the primordial structures that will eventually form the ear become visible (see the circled area in FIGURE 3 below). These six “auricular hillocks” are made up of all three types of tissue (ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm).
FIGURE 4 (below) depicts the maturation of the six auricular hillocks into the external ear (auricle).
As mentioned above, the six hillocks that eventually develop into the auricle are made up of endodermal, mesodermal, and ectodermal tissue. In other regions of the body, these tissue layers eventually organize themselves into the following body structures:
| Endodermal Tissue | Mesodermal Tissue | Ectodermal Tissue |
|---|---|---|
| Stomach | Bones and muscles | Skin |
| Intestines | Fascia and connective tissue | Hair |
| Lungs | Heart and blood cells | Sweat glands |
| Liver | Blood and lymph vessels | Nerves |
| Pancreas | Spleen | Spinal cord |
| Vagus nerve | Kidney | Brain |
The auricular region associated with each of the three tissue types (see FIGURE 5) maintains resonance with/influence over other body structures formed from that embryonic tissue layer. As a result, the auricle serves as both a diagnostic and a treatment tool for the entire body.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EAR AND BODY ACUPUNCTURE
Unlike body acupuncture points, which are found at the same anatomically-defined location on every person and are electrically active all the time, ear acupuncture points vary in location from one person to the next and are only detectable as electrically active when a problem exists with the associated body part. In this way they work sort of like a warning light on the instrument panel in a car.
DR. SOLIMAN’S DISCOVERY
Through decades of clinic experience and study, Dr. Soliman discovered that exposure to an allergenic substance causes the auricular area associated with the liver to expand to cover much of the concha region of the auricle (highlighted above in yellow). Placing a semi-permanent needle in the point that is most electrically active when exposed to a specific allergen (irritating substance) causes the body to stop overreacting to that substance.
