The practice of inserting needles into the body to reduce pain or induce anesthesia. More broadly, acupuncture is a family of procedures involving the stimulation of anatomical locations on or in the skin by a variety of techniques.

Reference: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR, https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2132 , June 28th, 2019