The first textbook in Europe directly addressing acupuncture appeared simultaneously in London, Leipzig and the Hague in 1683 (Dissertation on Arthritis).
Acupuncture quickly spread throughout Western Europe with concentrations of schools and practitioners in France, England, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The French colonization of Indochina during the second half of the 19th century exposed French military physicians to the legacy of Chinese medicine.
French sinologists, academicians and physicians have produced the most robust literature on acupuncture theory and practice since the 1950s in Western Europe.
- From Acupuncture Energetics Helms 2007