水分 : Shuifen : Water Separation

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Master Tung's Bowel Nest Twenty-Three

Location:

On the midline of the abdomen, 1 cun above the umbilicus and 7 cun below the sternocostal angle.

Needling:

Perpendicular insertion 0.8 - 1.5 cun

Warnings:

According to the Illustrated Classic of Acupuncture Points on the Bronze Man and the Illustrated Supplement to the Classic or Categories, this point is contraindicated to needling in cases of 'water illness' and plentiful moxibustion should rather be used. Moxibustion is contraindicated in pregnancy. In thin patients deep needling may penetrate the peritoneal cavity. No perpendicular needling in advanced pregnancy.

Classical Needling:

"It is needled to a depth of one cun and moxaed with five cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Regulates the water passages and treats oedema
Harmonises the Intestines and dispels accumulation

TCM Indications:

• Watery diarrhoea, oedema.
  
• Deficiency and distension of the intestine and Stomach, borborygmus, no pleasure in eating, acid regurgitation, vomiting after eating, Sudden Turmoil (霍亂, Huo Luan) Disorder with cramps, abdomen swollen and hard like a drum, periumbilical pain rushing up to the chest and Heart causing difficulty breathing.
  
• Nosebleed, failure of the fontanelle to close, tetany, contracted sinews, rigidity of the lumbar spine.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Anterior cutaneous thoracic nerve from T9

Dermatome Segment: T9

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

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

Major Combinations:

• Oedema:
    Shuifen Ren-9 with Fuliu Kid-7
    (Anon, nd, Shi Si Jing Yao Xue Zhu Zhi Ge, 十四經要穴主治歌, Song of the Points of the Fourteen Primary Channels).
  
  
• Oedema around the umbilical region:
    Shuifen Ren-9 with Yinlingquan Sp-9
    (Gao Wu, 高武, 1529: Bai Zheng Fu, 百症賦, Ode of a Hundred Symptoms).
  
  
• Oedema of the abdomen with drum-like distention:
    Shuifen Ren-9 and reduce Jianli Ren-11
    (Secrets of the Celestrial Star).
  
  
• Spasmodic pain of the hypogastrium:
    Shuifen Ren-9 with Shimen Ren-5
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Periumbilical pain:
    Shuifen Ren-9 with Shenque Ren-8 and Qihai Ren-6
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Pain of the umbilical region:
    Shuifen Ren-9 with Zhongfeng Liv-4 and Ququan Liv-8
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• No pleasure in eating:
    Shuifen Ren-9 with Youmen Kid-21, Xiaochangshu Bl-27, Yinlingquan Sp-9 and Diji Sp-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).

Notes:

From Yuen's school, this point along with Zhongshu Du-7, relate to the Fifth Level of Manifestation of the Soul (Po).

The fifth Po is connected to higher age and the Heart - Liver dynamic, honor and responsibility. In this sense it is connected with the third Po as both are about judgement but this is about self-judgement while the third Po is about judgement of and from others. It is the synthesis of the previous evolutions of the Po and is the beginning of the evolution of the Po-Hun into Shen. Obstruction at this level manifests as inability to one's situation and take responsibility for it. It tends towards symptoms of Yang in the upper body.

Treatment typically involves the Po Activation points Changqiang Du-1 and Jiuwei Ren-15 which are the Luo of the Ren and Du channels, accessing emotion at the level of the Jing, followed by the points associated with the particular level of blockage.

Berardinis & Navarra (2017). The succession of Po in the ladder of life. https://www.acupuncturesida.com/The-succession-of-Po-in-the-ladder-of-life.aspx

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 ☲ Li, Fire, the south and the Heart and Small Intestine organs (Schelbert, 2014, Ryan, 2009).

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