Constipation is a common clinical condition. Constipation itself is a separate diagnosis in medicine, but at the same time it is a common clinical symptom. The clinical manifestations of constipation are dry stools, difficult to pass, and the number of bowel movements per week decreases, and the stool becomes dry and hard, causing some inconvenience in daily life. Constipation can also cause some other systemic problems, for example, long-term constipation can cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems. When constipation occurs, most patients’ first reaction is to take laxatives. However, as a physician, we suggest that the cause and type of constipation should be clarified first, and we do not recommend taking laxatives blindly to avoid adverse clinical reactions. In this section, we will give a brief introduction to the typology of constipation, so that patients with constipation can check the type of constipation they are suffering from and see which type they belong to, as different types of constipation are treated differently. Constipation from the etiological point of view can be divided into two categories, one is functional constipation, one is organic constipation. Functional constipation means that there is no exact cause of constipation, but the patient is constipated due to a weakened bowel movement caused by a decrease in the function of the intestine. Organic constipation means that the patient’s constipation symptoms are caused by some specific diseases, so it is called organic constipation. The most common primary cause of constipation is diabetes mellitus, which can cause degeneration of the nerves in the intestinal wall, directly leading to slowed bowel movements. In addition, there are intestinal tumors, scleroderma, etc., which can lead to the weakening of intestinal function and produce constipation. In addition, pathologically speaking, constipation can be divided into three types. The first type is slow-transit constipation, which is characterized by prolonged intestinal passage time, that is, after eating something, it is absorbed to form scum, or feces. The time for feces to pass through the intestines and eventually be excreted is significantly longer, resulting in constipation, which is the main characteristic of slow-transit constipation. The second type of constipation is exit obstruction type of constipation, this type of constipation is characterized by the speed of feces passing through the intestine is not slow, but the feces is blocked when it reaches the exit of the intestine, resulting in constipation. This type of constipation is usually caused by abnormal development of the intestinal tract. The last type is mixed constipation, which has the characteristics of both slow-transit constipation and intestinal exit obstruction constipation, where the stool travels slowly in the intestine and then does not exit smoothly. So we say that constipation is divided into two main categories and three major ones. The two major categories are organic and functional, and the three major ones are slow transmission, exit obstruction and mixed type. There is actually a crossover between classification and typing. For example, a patient with constipation caused by diabetes mellitus is classified as organic constipation, but also as slow-transit constipation, because the passage time of the colon is prolonged in diabetic patients. When constipation occurs, the patient will feel very uncomfortable, with bloating, abdominal pain, indigestion, poor appetite, etc., so the patient will consider using laxatives to solve the problem. We say that laxatives can be eaten, but first you need to clarify where the cause of your disease is, and should be solved at the root. If you belong to the organic constipation, for example, caused by diabetes, you should first deal with the original disease, such as high blood sugar, at this time you take laxatives will not be effective. For example, this patient belongs to the exit obstruction type of constipation, because of the abnormal structure of the intestine, the stool just can’t get out here, it is meaningless to take laxatives at this time. Because the speed of feces through the intestine is not slow, you stimulate it again, let it run faster, to the exit still can not get out. So we say that after a patient has constipation, especially a long period of constipation can not be relieved, or should first do some tests to clarify the cause of constipation and typing. For example, an intestinal tract imaging can be done, so that the problem of outlet obstruction can be clarified. If it is clear that there is an outlet obstruction, timely treatment should be carried out. Nowadays, the anorectal surgery is very advanced, so an operation can be done to remove the obstruction, so that the stool can be opened without taking laxatives. If the examination determines that the constipation is of the slow-transmission colon type, which means that the stool travels very slowly in the intestine, we can consider the use of laxatives at this time. However, there is still a certain amount of detail in which type of laxative to use. Laxatives are broadly divided into three categories, the first is a stimulant laxative, like fruit guide tablets is a typical example. It can directly stimulate the intestinal wall to laxative. The second is an osmotic laxative, like mannitol, which can draw water into the intestines, more water in the intestines, so that the bowel movement will be smoother. The third is a volumetric laxative, the representative one is lactulose oral solution. It can directly increase the volume of liquid in the intestine to achieve the effect of laxative. Among these three types of laxatives, stimulant laxatives are not recommended, because long-term use of stimulant laxatives can cause intestinal nigrosis, the intestinal wall becomes stiff and inelastic, so that the drug is not effective in the future. Long-term use of osmotic laxatives can lead to water-electrolyte imbalance because it excretes water from the body through the intestines. Therefore, we say that for slow-transmission constipation, the first choice should be volumetric laxatives such as lactulose oral solution, which can increase the volume of fluid in the intestine and achieve laxative effects without the side effects of stimulant and osmotic laxatives. Acupuncture is an important therapy in traditional Chinese medicine. The problem of constipation is called spleen contract in Chinese medicine, which means that the function of the spleen is constrained, so it leads to constipation. So what is the function of the spleen? The theory of Chinese medicine says: “The spleen is responsible for moving its fluids for the stomach”. All organs are supplied with nutrients by the spleen, and so is the intestine. The intestine is a cavernous organ in which feces is only a passageway. The main function of the spleen for the intestine is to deliver the necessary lubricant, and only if this lubricant is sufficient can the stool be excreted properly. When the spleen is constrained, there is not enough lubricant in the intestines, and this is when constipation occurs. This is why constipation is called spleen contract in the TCM diagnosis. Our previous clinical studies have confirmed that acupuncture treatment is very effective for constipation, especially for slow-transmission constipation of the colon. Through specific acupuncture points, we can directly affect the peristalsis of the intestine, which increases the peristalsis of the intestine, and then the transit time of the intestine will be accelerated, and the time for feces to pass through the intestine will be reduced. In our clinical study, we compared acupuncture treatment with laxatives such as lactulose oral solution, and the effect of acupuncture treatment is not inferior to laxatives at all. Moreover, acupuncture is easy to use and has a good safety profile. After a certain course of acupuncture treatment, the patient can get rid of constipation and is not dependent on any medication or treatment. So we say that if patients are diagnosed with slow transmission constipation, they may want to try acupuncture treatment.