曲差 : Quchai : Crooked Curve

Location:

0.5 cun within the anterior hairline, 1.5 cun lateral to Shenting Du-24 and one third of the distance between Shenting Du-24 and Touwei St-8.

Needling:

Transverse insertion 0.5 - 1 cun

Classical Needling:

"The Taiyang usually has much Blood and little Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be bled.
"The foot Taiyang is to be pierced 5 fen deep and remain inserted for seven exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is located with the" (patient’s) head upright. It is needled to a depth of three fen and is moxaed with five cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Expels Wind, clears the head and alleviates pain
Benefits the eyes and nose

TCM Indications:

• Headache, vertex headache, swelling of the vertex, blurred vision, nasal congestion, nasal sores, nosebleed, rhinitis.
  
• Agitation and fullness of the Heart, dyspnoea, absence of sweating, agitation and heat in the body.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Supraorbital nerve, from ophthalamic branch of trigeminal (CN V1)

Dermatome Segment: CN V1 ophthalamic branch of trigeminal

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

A well protected part of the skull, a strike here has to be quite hard but can shock the brain and shut the body down as well as cause physical neck damage (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• Dimness of vision:
    Quchai Bl-4 with Yanglao SI-6 and Hegu LI-4
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Agitation and fullness of the Heart with absence of sweating:
    Quchai Bl-4 with Xinshu Bl-15
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Foul-smelling nasal discharge:
    Quchai Bl-4 with Shangxing Du-23
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

Notes:

The Ling Shu ch. 52 describes four Qi "Streets" (街 Jie, "street or market") on the head, chest, abdomen and shins. The Head Qi Street refers to the points located along the Bladder and Gall Bladder channel of the head and are said to have a special connection with the brain.

This point's indications for agitation with fullness of the Heart, Heat in the body and dyspnoea would make it a suitable candidate for the Bladder Qi Street point relating to the Pericardium and San Jiao. Agitation with fullness of the Heart may also be attributed to Jueyin disorders where this point may treat these upper Jiao symptoms relating to this syndrome.

In Tibetan Medicine:
Venesection point, called Gser Mdung (Golden Spear) measured by finding the vena subraorbitalis or vena supra-trochlearis 2 cun lateral and 4 cun superior to the glabella. By Chinese cun measurements this would place it exactly on the hairline (the forehead being 3 cun or one handsbreadth exactly) but the diagram shows it slightly inferior to the hairline. Its is indicated for:

- Eye problems with too much heat in the liver
- Menopausal hot flushes
- Alopecia and thinned out eyebrows

(Chenagtsang & Nguyen, 2017, Sowa Rigpa Points).

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