雲門 : Yunmen : Cloud Gate

Classifications:

Front Shu of the Breast
One of the "59 piercings" for clearing Heat in Su Wen Ch. 61

Trigger point (Melzack, Stillwell & Fox, 1977)

Location:

On the antero-lateral aspect of the chest, below the lateral extremity of the clavicle, 6 cun lateral to the midline, in the centre of the hollow of the delto-pectoral triangle.

Needling:

Transverse-oblique insertion 0.5 - 1 cun

Warnings:

Deep perpendicular needling or oblique insertion carries a substantial risk of causing a pneumothorax

Classical Needling:

"The Taiyin usually has much Qi and little Blood" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"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 seven fen and moxaed with five cones. Unduly deep insertion causes counterflow breathing" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Clears Lung Heat and disseminates and descends Lung Qi
Dispels agitation and fullness

TCM Indications:

• Cough, wheezing, asthma, dyspnoea with inability to lie down, shortness of breath, oppressive and agitated sensation in the chest, heat in the chest, opression and pain in the chest, upsurging of qi to the Heart, sudden pain of the Heart and abdomen.
  
• Pain of the lateral costal region and back, pain of the back and shoulders, pain of the shoulder with inability to raise arm, pain of the supraclavicular fossa.
  
• Interrupted pulse which cannot be felt at the cun position, Throat Painful Obstruction (喉痹, Hou Bi), goitre, injury by cold giving rise to persistent heat in the limbs.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: C5 - C6 via brachial plexus and axillary nerve

Dermatome Segment: C4

Trigger Point Associations:

Muscle:
Deltoid

Pain Referral Pattern:
To the lateral aspect of the shoulder, over the deltoid muscle

Indications:
Shoulder pain

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

A powerful slashing strike to this point may sever the cephalic vein causing profuse bleeding (Kaiser, 2019, The Dangers from Knife and Weapon Slashing).

Struck upwards into the clavicle it produces a devastating affect upon the Qi system of the whole body. The pain is tremendous and greatly drains Qi. Great internal damage can be done with little external appearance. This will cause a knock out or even death through Qi drainage. When the point is struck from the top above the clavicle, the collarbone will be broken along with the Qi drainage and even more pain! However, because the collarbone is able to take some of the pressure from this strike, even though it breaks, the likelihood of death is lessened. The downward strike will stop a confrontation really fast though! (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• Pathogens in the Lung: Yunmen Lu-2 with Zhongfu Lu-1, Feishu Bl-13 and either Qupen St-12 or Tiantu Ren-22 (depending on how the location "in the middle of the Broken Basin" is interpreted)
    (Anon, 400BC-260AD: Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu, 黃帝內經靈樞, Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic: Spiritual Pivot, Ch. 20, On the Five Evils).
  
  
• Heat in the four limbs:
    Yunmen Lu-2 with Jianyu LI-15, Weizhong Bl-40 and Yaoshu Du-2
    (Anon, 400BC-260AD: Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu, 黃帝內經靈樞, Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic: Spiritual Pivot Ch. 23, On Heat Diseases).
  
  
• Chest pain:
    Yunmen Lu-2 with Zhongfu Lu-1, Feishu Bl-13, Qimen Liv-14, Yinbai Sp-1, Hunmen Bl-47 and Daling Pc-7
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Pain of the shoulder with inability to lift the arm:
    Yunmen Lu-2 with Bingfeng SI-12
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Dyspnoea with rebellious Qi, breathing with raised shoulders and inability to taste food:
    Yunmen Lu-2 with Qihu St-13, Tianfu Lu-3 and Shenmen He-7
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Throat Painful Obstruction:
    Yunmen Lu-2 with Zhongfu Lu-1, Jianyu LI-15, Weizhong Bl-40, Fuliu Kid-7 and Fubai GB-10
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

Notes:

The "59 piercings" are named in the Su Wen Ch. 61 and mentioned in Su Wen Ch. 32 and Ling Shu Ch. 23 for treating Heat diseases.

Yunmen is the name of a mountain in Qingzhou, Shandong with religious significance for Taoism and Buddhism. It is famous for its cloud and mists which curl across the mountain like a fairyland during summer and autumn.

One of the twelve Shu points of the breast mentioned in the Su Wen Ch. 58 and identified by Wang Bing.

If the Shu points of the Breast have elemental organ associations like the Shu points of the Chest, then this imagery would suggest this is the point of the Lung. If the theory is correct that these relate to the formation of bodily Qi from food and drink, then this point is where the Kong Qi from the air enters the body.

The outer line of Tung's 12 Monkeys (Shi Er Hou) would be located slightly medial (5 fen) to this point.

In Thai massage:
Acupressure point (Salguero & Roylance, 2011, Encyclopedia of Thai Massage)

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