Tanzhong and Qimen
Star膻中、期門 (Dànzhōng, Qīmén)
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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Hui-Meeting point of qi; regulates the qi of the chest and sends it downwards.
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.
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Front-Mu point of the Liver; releases constrained Liver qi in the hypochondrium.
Supine. Find the sixth intercostal space two spaces below ST17 (the nipple), on the mid-clavicular line; in women, whose nipple position varies, use the mid-clavicular line in the sixth space rather than the nipple. Insert obliquely 0.5–0.8 cun, keeping the needle within the intercostal space and angled along it, never perpendicular. The source names the endothoracic fascia as the deepest layer reached; the parietal pleura lies directly beneath it, so the needle must stay superficial to it. An aching numbness should spread locally and round towards the back.
- ⚠ Major vessel
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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LV14 Qimen
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⚠ Vascular injury or haematoma has been reported after needling this point. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 4 (Organ injury) and Table 8 (Hemorrhage)
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No cited needling data yet for CV17. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Soothe the Liver and strengthen the Spleen, regulate qi and send rebellious qi downwards.
Indications
Method
Patient supine. CV17 is needled transversely or at a shallow oblique angle 0.3–0.5 cun until an aching distension spreads through the chest; LV14 is needled obliquely 0.5–0.8 cun along the intercostal space until an aching numbness radiates towards the back.
⚠ Cautions
LV14 overlies the pleura and lung: keep the needle oblique within the intercostal space and never perpendicular, as deep insertion risks pneumothorax (the liver lies beneath on the right). At CV17 needle only transversely or at a shallow angle — a congenital sternal foramen at this level can let a perpendicular needle reach the heart.
About
A two-point combination for Liver qi constraint invading the Stomach: pain and fullness under the ribs with belching and hiccup. It frees the Liver, supports the Spleen and turns rebellious qi downwards.
Rationale
CV17, the Hui-Meeting point of qi and Front-Mu point of the Pericardium, regulates qi across the chest and descends rebellious Lung and Stomach qi; LV14, the Front-Mu point of the Liver and a meeting point with the Spleen channel and the Yin Wei Mai, releases the Liver's hold on the Stomach. The midline point and the costal-margin point together cover the chest and hypochondrium where the symptoms sit.
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 7.
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