天泉 : Tianquan : Heavenly Spring

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Luo Harmonizing point

Meetings:

Meeting of Pericardium with Pericardium Divergent

Location:

On the anterior aspect of the arm, 2 cun below the anterior axillary fold, between the two heads of the biceps brachii muscle.

Needling:

Oblique insertion distally or proximally along the line of the channel, 1 - 1.5 cun

Classical Needling:

"The Jueyin usually has much Blood and little Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be bled.
"The hand Yin and Yang receive their Qi via nearby paths so their Qi arrive swiftly. The depth of piercing must not exceed 2 fen and must not remain inserted for longer than one exhalation" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"Locate it with the" (patient’s) arm raised. It is needled to a depth of six fen and moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Unbinds the chest, invigorates Blood and alleviates pain

TCM Indications:

• Heart pain, disorders of the Heart, pain of the chest, back, shoulder, shoulder blade and arm, fullness of the chest and lateral costal region, palpitations, cough, stone oedema.
  
• Aversion to wind and cold, blurred vision, pain of the medial aspect of the upper arm.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Lower lateral cutaneous nerve of the arm (C8, T1)

Dermatome Segment: C6, T1 on ventral axial line

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

Causes great local pain, nerve damage and Qi disruption to the Heart, especially if grabbed with a claw hand in conjunction with Tianfu Lu-3. It can put someone on their knees and take the breath away (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• Heart pain radiating to the shoulder and arm:
    Tianquan Pc-2 with Ximen Pc-4, Neiguan Pc-6 and Shanzhong Ren-17 (Deadman, Al-Khafaji and Baker, 2001, A Manual of Acupuncture).

Notes:

Biceps trigger points are located distally and on either side of the pericardium channel in the middle of the middle of the heads of the biceps brachii channel (Travell & Simons, 1998, Trigger Point Manual)

At the end of a Percardium Luo treatment this point is needled, deqi grasped and removed immediately to normalize the circulation of blood (Cecil-Sterman, 2012, Advanced Acupuncture).

In ayurvedic medicine:
Arvi marma point
Size: 1 angula (cun)
Structure: Blood vessels
Effect of Injury: Disability (vaikalyakar marma)
(Harish Johari, 1996, Ayurvedic Massage, Sanatan Society; Anupama Bhattacharya, n.d. Marma Shastra)

In Tibetan medicine:
Bleeding point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings)

Reference Notes:

Basic information on location, needle depth, TCM actions, indications and combinations is taken from Deadman et al (2001): A Manual of Acupuncture with additional anatomical information researched by reference to Gray's Anatomy (38th Ed., 1995) unless otherwise referenced. Images were found on acupunctureschoolonline.com and can be traced back to Claudia Focks (2008) Atlas of Acupuncture originally. I cannot claim any credit or rights over them. Other sources should be quoted in the text.

For some of the more unusual terms I have created a glossary here