Extended Meridian Waveguide Model: A Multiphysics, Systems-Oriented Framework for Understanding Meridian Function and Intervention Coupling

Meridian theory is central to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), yet contemporary explanations often oscillate between anatomical reductionism and non-operational metaphor, limiting hypothesis generation and study design. This Perspective proposes an “extended meridian waveguide” framework that treats meridians as distributed, lossy, coupled multiphysics pathways rather than a single discrete anatomical conduit. The model operationalizes meridian condition using a compact state vector spanning measurable proxy classes (mechanical, electrical/impedance, temperature, biochemical/metabolic proxies, interstitial milieu, fascial glide, neural excitability, pressure, perfusion/flow, and context-dependent coupling), and represents pathway organization as a weighted graph whose edges encode state-dependent propagation and attenuation. Interventions are formalized as defined inputs that perturb local state and reweight adjacent couplings, yielding predictions expressed as propagation signatures (anisotropy along vs across a corridor), phase/lag structure, junction-dependent routing switches, and mode-specific proxy patterns across modalities. The paper outlines staged, minimal validation workflows emphasizing differential signatures and explicit disconfirmation criteria rather than binary “effect/no effect” comparisons. Optional modality axes are modular and removable without altering the core model’s testable claims.