足通谷 : Zutonggu : Foot Connecting Valley

Classifications:

Ying-Spring and Water point
Horary point of the Bladder channel

Location:

On the lateral side of the foot, in the depression anterior and inferior to the fifth metatarso-phalangeal joint until it falls into the depression at the base of the little toe.

Needling:

Perpendicular-oblique insertion towards the sole 0.2 - 0.3 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 needled to a depth of two fen, (the needle) is retained for a duration of five exhalations, and it is moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Clears the head
Descends Lung and Stomach Qi

TCM Indications:

• Heaviness of the head, neck pain, Visual Dizziness, redness of the eyes, nosebleed, sweating without aversion to cold, Malarial (瘧, Nue) Disorders.
  
• Vomiting, undigested food in the stool, cough and dyspnoea, fullness of the chest with congested fluids.
  
• Mania, propensity to fright.

I Ching Hexagram:

䷜ Kan 坎 Abyss

Shared with Yingu Kid-10 and balanced by ䷝ (Shaofu He-8 or Yanggu SI-5).

Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Sural nerve (L5 - S2)

Dermatome Segment: S1

Deeper Structures: Sural nerve (L5 - S2)

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

See Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com for explanation of effects.

Major Combinations:

• Headaches, a heavy head and dizziness with falling down due to disturbing Qi in the head causing counterflow:
    First needle Tianzhu Bl-10 and Dazhu Bl-11. If this does not work needle Zutonggu Bl-66 and Shugu Bl-65
    (Anon, 400BC-260AD: Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu, 黃帝內經靈樞, Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic: Spiritual Pivot, Ch. 34, On the Five Disturbances).
  
  
• Rhinitis with nosebleed:
    Zutonggu Bl-66 with Pianli LI-6, Hegu LI-4, Sanjian LI-3 and Kunlun Bl-60
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Sudden loss of voice:
    Zutonggu Bl-66 with Zhigou SJ-6 and Sanyangluo SJ-8
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Vomiting:
    Zutonggu Bl-66 with Shangqiu Sp-5 and Youmen Kid-21
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).

Notes:

Ling Shu Ch. 19, on the Four Seasonal Qi, advises selecting the Jing-Well and Ying-Spring openings in winter, piercing deeply and retaining for a while. However, the character for "retain" 留 is a combination of 田 "a field," possibly referring to the idea of waiting for things to grow, and 卯 which is the 4^th Earthly Branch (Mao, Rabbit, ䷡, 5-7 am, Large Intestine) and said to derive from a Shang Dynasty glyph, originally referring to a blood sacrifice (a person or animal cut in half) before coming to mean bloodletting and "pouring out" (Smith, 2011). This might suggest it was actually referring to bleeding these points, and maybe even letting the points bleed for a time rather than retaining the needle.

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