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Location Guides: |
Front Mu of the San Jiao
Master Tung's Bowel Nest Twenty-Three
Meeting of Conception Vessel with San Jiao Divergent
On the midline of the lower abdomen, 2 cun inferior to the umbilicus and 3 cun superior to the pubic symphysis.
Perpendicular insertion 0.8 - 1.5 cun
Deep needling may penetrate the peritoneal cavity. No deep needling in pregnancy, or perpendicular needling in advanced pregnancy.
"It is needled to a depth of five fen and retained for a duration of ten exhalations and it is moxaed with three cones. Needling and moxibustion are prohibited in females as it may cause infertility" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).
Moves and benefits the water passages
Regulates Qi and alleviates pain
Regulates the uterus
Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.
Superficial Innervation: Anterior cutaneous thoracic nerve from T12
Dermatome Segment: T12
Trauma to this point will impede the internal communication needed for Qi production including the distribution of Yuan Qi and block the smooth flow of Qi between the 3 major points of Zhongji Ren-3, Guanyuan Ren-5 and this point.
The result is a shortening of life expectency and impairment of a woman's reproductive capability (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).
In Tung lineage acupuncture the Bowel Nest 23 (Fu Chao Er Shi San) are a group of points located in a line at 1 cun intervals between Ren-2 and Ren-10. An additional eight points on either side form a 4x5 grid at the levels of Ren-9 to Ren-5, also at 1 cun intervals. Ren-8, on the navel, is not included.
They are pricked using Tung's method in local disorders of pain, stagnation and heat in the abdomen such as uteritis, nephritis, umbilical area pain, enteritis, appendicitis and intestinal cancers (McCann, 2014, Pricking the Vessels).
In nine palaces abdominal acupuncture, this point is located in the region associated with ☵ Kan, Water, the north and the Kidneys and Bladder organs (Schelbert, 2014, Ryan, 2009).
The alchemical text Zhouyi Cantong Qi (周易參同契 attributed to Wei Boyang, 2nd century CE) represents the lunar cycle in sequence of 6 groups of 5 days governed by the waxing and waning trigrams. These correspond to a rotating cycle of the Early Heaven sequence, with Kan in the west and Li in the east governing the whole Yin and Yang parts of the cycle respectively.
These attributions can be mapped onto the body with the inner trigram representing the Early Heaven trigram that rules the period of 5 days and the outer trigram being its Late Heaven pair, corresponding to the Channel that governs that period. This results in a sequence that has relevance to the menstrual cycle which also corresponds to the moon.
䷭ Xun within Kun : Days 1-5 : Shimen Ren-5 or Danzhong Ren-17
Front Mu of the San Jiao and Pericaridum. Shimen Ren-5 lies between Qihai Ren-6 and Guanyuan Ren-4 which nourish the Qi and Blood of the uterus respectively, so the point between them communicates between both of these, while the San Jiao has strong connections to Yin. Danzhong Ren-17 is the Hui of Qi and Sea of Qi point, also assisting to gathers Chest Qi that is used to make Blood.
䷠ Gen within Qian : Days 6-10 : Pishu Bl-20
Back Shu of the Spleen. Raises and holds the Blood by strengthening the Spleen, completing the endometrial lining and holding it in place.
䷇ Kun within Kan: Days 11-15 : Taixi Kid-3
Yuan-Source of Kidney, Kidneys govern fertility and this point in particular tonifies Kidney Yang as well as Yin, initiating the return of Yang from within Yin, representing ovulation and the start of the Yang part of the cycle.
䷚ Zhen within Gen: Days 16-20 : Yinbai Sp-1
Return of Yang. This point has many indications for stopping bleeding, especially uterine bleeding which would indicate a disorder of Yang failing to uphold the Blood. It is also a Ghost Point so has an influence on the Shen.
䷼ Dui within Xun: Days 21-25 : Jianshi Pc-5
Strong regulator of the Shen and menstruation for the pre-menstrual phase.
䷍ Qian within Li: Days 26-30 : Tongli He-5
Luo of the Heart, a strong invigorating Blood point to govern the days of the period.
One notable pattern that emerges is that the points which govern the 5 day periods corresponding to the ordinal directions only involve the Spleen and Pericardium, which are the channels that were chosen to open the Chong Mai and Yin Wei Mai. The cardinal directions of north and south are governed by the Heart and Kidneys that make up the Shaoyin Axis.
Another pattern is that the Yin part of the cycle draws upon the Ren, Du and Kidneys that connect to the Jing, while the Yang half of the cycle comprises of points that affect the Shen. This connects them to the principle of the Curious Organs, where Jing and Shen combine, and includes the uterus.
The two directions that are not part of the waxing and waning trigrams are Kan and Li. These govern the 15 day Yin and Yang halves of the cycle as a whole and correspond to:
䷮ Kan within Dui: Days 1-15 : Chize Lu-5
Water point of Taiyin, which is a term for the moon, thus representing the moon's influence on the tides and its corresponding influence on Yin aspects of the body.
䷶ Li within Zhen: Days 16-30 : Xingjian Liv-2
Fire point of Jueyin, reverting Yin, representing the return of Yang. Clinically this point clears Liver Fire, spread Liver Qi and stops bleeding due to Heat and so is appropriate for any number of issues stemming from overactive Yang in this half of the cycle.
Lad and Durve (2008) in Marma Points of Ayurveda locate a point between here and Guanyuan Ren-5 called Basti and associate it with the doshas: Apana Vayu, Vyana Vayu, Ranjaka Pitta and Kledaka Kapha.
They give the following functions:
- Regulates bladder and treated genitourinary dysfunction
- Regulates apana vayu
- Relieves pain
- Increases circulation and enhances function in the pelvic organs
In Tibetan medicine:
Lower intestine points, along with points to the left and right. Can be treated with cones of dried edelweiss flowers (Trah-wah) on crushed garlic for diarrhoea caused by disturbance of mLung (Bradley, 2000: Principles of Tibetan Medicine)
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
Steve Woodley Acupuncture & Traditional Medicine
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Eascote, Pinner, Greater London. HA5 1SP
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