商陽 : Shangyang : Shang (metal note) Yang

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Jing-Well and Metal point
Horary point of the Large Intestine channel
One of the "59 piercings" for clearing Heat in Ling Shu Ch. 23

Location:

On the dorsal aspect of the index finger, at the junction of the lines drawn along the radial border of the nail and the base of the nail, approximately 0.1 cun from the corner of the nail

Needling:

Perpendicular or oblique insertion directed proximally 0.1 to 0.2 cun, or prick to bleed

Classical Needling:

"The Yangming usually has much Qi and much Blood" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel can normally be needled or 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).
"It is needled to a depth of one cun, (the needle) is retained for a duration of one exhalation, 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 Heat, reduces swelling and alleviates pain
Revives consciousness

TCM Indications:

• Throat Painful Obstruction (喉痹, Hou Bi), toothache of the lower jaw, pain of the lower cheek, swelling of the submandibular region, dry mouth, deafness, tinnitus.
  
• Loss of consciousness from Windstroke (中風, Zhong Feng), loss of consciousness, fullness of the chest radiating to the lateral costal region, dyspnoea and cough, febrile disease with absence of sweating, hot Malarial (瘧, Nue) Disorders.
  
• Pain of the shoulder and back that radiates to the supraclavicular fossa, numbness and heat of the fingers.

I Ching Hexagram:

䷹ Dui 巽 Lake, joyous exchange

Shared with Jingqu Lu-8. Balanced by ䷳ (Zusanli St-36 or Taibai Sp-3).

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

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Median nerve branch to fingers from C6 - C8

Dermatome Segment: C7

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

Montaigue (Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com)) provides no martial applications for this point, only therapeutic.

In seizing martial arts (Qin Na) this point is a cavity pressing point (Dian Xue, 點穴). Both sides of the nail are pinched to obstruct the Qi and cause serious pain. If the pain is significant it can cause fainting. Sometimes the top of the nail bed is pressed instead. (Yang, 2004, Analysis of Shaolin Chin Na, 2nd Edition).

Major Combinations:

• Febrile disease with absence of sweating:
    Shanyang LI-1 with Hegu LI-4, Yangxi LI-5, Xiaxi GB-43, Lidui St-45, Laogong Pc-8 and Wangu SI-4
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Cold Nue (Malaria):
    Shanyang LI-1 with Taixi Kid-3
    (Gao Wu, 高武, 1529: Bai Zheng Fu, 百症賦, Ode of a Hundred Symptoms).
  
  
• Nue (Malaria) with generalised fever:
    Shanyang LI-1 with Sanjian LI-3, Zhongzhu SJ-3, Yindu Kid-19 and Shaohai He-3
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Chronic Nue (Malaria):
    Shanyang LI-1 with Zhongzhu SJ-3, Qiuxu GB-40
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Tinnitus:
    Shanyang LI-1 with Pianli LI-6, Yanxi LI-5, Luoque Bl-8, Wangu SI-4 and Qiangu SI-3
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Deafness:
    Shanyang LI-1 with Zhongzhu SJ-3, Waiguan SJ-5, Erheliao SJ-22, Tinghui GB-2, Tinggong SI-19, Hegu LI-4 and Zhongchong Pc-9
    (Previous Mirror).
  
  
• Dru mouth and tongue with difficult ingestion:
    Shanyang LI-1 with Danshu Bl-19 and Xiaochangshu Bl-27
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Swelling of the supraclavicular fossa (Quepen St-12):
    Shanyang LI-1 with Taixi Kid-3 and Zulinqi GB-41
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

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.

Ling Shu Ch. 23, On Heat Diseases, gives a different list of points for the "59 Piercings" to Su Wen Ch. 61. They include three on the outer and three on the inner side of the hands which most likely includes this point.

In the Maoshan Daoist tradition, when the 12 earthly branches, I Ching trigrams and elements are mapped onto the hand this fingertip equates to the branch 巳 Si, the trigram ☱ Tui, Lake and the element of Fire (Read, 2020, FB Post; 17QQ.com, 2020, Eight trigrams and twelve Branches of the earth palm).

In Maoshan Daoism the character for Jing 井 is used to trap disease, ghosts and demons. It is drawn in the air invoking the "three mountains" mudra (index, middle and ring finger extended) with the bent line continuing in a circle (usually clockwise), or with ash and sprayed on with water held in the mouth, and sometimes on talismans (Read, 2020, FB Post, 1 Sep 2020). This may explain why the Jing-Well points are so often used to expel pathogens.

Lad and Durve (2008) in Marma Points of Ayurveda call this point Tarjani and associate it with the doshas: Prana Vayu, Udana Vayu, Apana Vayu and Avalambaka Kapha.

They give the following functions:
- Benefits lungs and enhances the flow of prana
- Regulates colon and apana vayu
- Balances udana and apana vayu
- Acts on the hands and fingers

In Tibetan medicine:
Moxa 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