Zhongwan, Qihai and Tanzhong
Star中脘、氣海、膻中 (Zhōngwǎn, Qìhǎi, Dànzhōng)
Modern Chinese point-pair (对穴) teaching, as compiled by Guo Changqing and colleagues at the School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Points
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Front-Mu point of the Stomach; settles rebellious Stomach qi in the middle burner.
4 cun above the umbilicus. Supine. Needle straight in to 0.5–1.0 cun, through the subcutaneous layer to the internal abdominal (transversalis) fascia and the subperitoneal fascia. Seek a local aching distension that spreads into the stomach.
- ⚠ Organ
- Pregnancy: caution
-
Sea of Qi; roots the qi below so that it can descend.
1.5 cun below the umbilicus. Supine. Needle straight in to 0.8–1.2 cun, passing skin and subcutaneous tissue into the internal abdominal fascia and the median umbilical fold. An aching distension should form locally and extend towards the genitals.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
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Front-Mu point of the Pericardium and Hui-Meeting point of qi; unbinds the chest and descends Lung and Stomach qi.
Supine; the point sits where a line between the nipples crosses the sternal midline, level with the fourth intercostal space. Insert transversely along the skin or at a shallow oblique angle, 0.3–0.5 cun, down to the periosteum of the sternal body. The aching distension should spread through the chest. Never needle perpendicularly.
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
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CV12 Zhongwan
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⚠ Organ injury has been reported after needling this point. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 4 (Organ injury associated with acupuncture)
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No cited needling data yet for CV17. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Open the chest and regulate qi, send rebellious Lung and Stomach qi downwards, and relieve cough and wheezing.
Indications
Method
Patient supine. CV12 is needled perpendicularly 0.5–1.0 cun (sensation spreading into the stomach), CV6 perpendicularly 0.8–1.2 cun (sensation spreading towards the genitals) and CV17 transversely or at a shallow oblique angle 0.3–0.5 cun (sensation spreading through the chest); an aching distension is sought at each.
⚠ Cautions
CV6 is contraindicated in pregnancy. At CV17 needle only transversely or at a shallow oblique angle: a congenital sternal foramen, present in some people at about this level, can allow a perpendicular needle to reach the pericardium and heart.
About
Three Ren Mai points at the levels of the chest, the epigastrium and the lower abdomen, combined to open the chest, regulate qi and turn rebellious Lung and Stomach qi downwards. It serves both respiratory complaints (cough, wheezing, chest fullness) and upward-rebelling digestive ones (hiccup, vomiting), and also poor milk supply and chest pain of cardiac origin.
Rationale
CV17, the Hui-Meeting point of qi and Front-Mu point of the Pericardium, governs the qi of the chest and the breast; CV12, Front-Mu point of the Stomach, governs the middle burner; CV6, the Sea of Qi, roots qi in the lower burner. Spanning the upper, middle and lower burners on a single vessel, the set gives rebellious qi somewhere to descend to.
Sources
- Guo Changqing (ed.). Acupuncture of Acupoint Combinations: Quick Lookups. Daylesford: Heart Space Publications, 2020 (English edition; © China Science and Technology Press). ISBN 978-0-6489215-5-4. Chapter 3, combination 5.
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