a Chinese folk medicine treatment that consists in the application of punctate burns to the skin. Ignipuncture is one of the methods of acupuncture, or Chen-Chiu therapy. The pathological process is altered by the local and general reaction produced by the irritation of skin receptors. Ignipuncture is performed with smoldering sticks similar to cigarettes that are made of ground dried wormwood or mugwort (Artemisia verlotorum Lamotte). The ignipuncture points are selected according to the disease. Neuroses and certain other diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems and the locomotor system indicate the need for this treatment. Ignipuncture is contraindicated in the presence of diseases requiring immediate surgery, tumors, and other serious conditions.