Shencang and Xuanji
Star神藏、璇璣 (Shéncáng, Xuánjī)
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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Upper chest point of the Kidney channel; descends rebellious qi and opens the chest.
Supine. In the second intercostal space, 2 cun lateral to the anterior midline. Insert obliquely 0.5–0.8 cun, angled along the intercostal space and never perpendicular. The needle passes skin, subcutaneous tissue and the external and internal intercostal muscles and must stop short of the endothoracic fascia, beneath which lie the pleura and lung. An aching numbness should spread across the chest.
- ⚠ Pneumothorax
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Ren Mai point over the manubrium; descends Lung qi and benefits the throat.
Seated or supine. On the midline over the manubrium, 1 cun below CV22. Insert transversely under the skin, 0.3–0.5 cun, lying on the periosteum of the manubrium. An aching distension should be felt at the point.
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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KI25 Shencang
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⚠ Pneumothorax risk: too deep an insertion can puncture the pleura. World Health Organization 1999, Section II §5.2 (Lung and pleura), p. 25
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No cited needling data yet for CV21. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Open the chest and regulate qi, and relieve cough and wheezing.
Indications
Method
Patient supine (CV21 may also be needled seated). KI25 is needled obliquely 0.5–0.8 cun along the intercostal space, and CV21 transversely 0.3–0.5 cun over the bone; seek an aching numbness spreading through the chest at KI25 and a local aching distension at CV21.
⚠ Cautions
KI25 overlies the lung: deep or perpendicular insertion risks pneumothorax, so keep the needle oblique and within the stated depth — the source itself warns against deep insertion here. CV21 lies on bone and is needled transversely only.
About
A small upper-chest pairing for respiratory complaints, used to unbind the chest, regulate qi and settle cough and wheezing. It also covers tightness spreading into the flanks, chest pain and sore throat.
Rationale
CV21 on the Ren Mai sits over the manubrium, close to the throat, and descends Lung qi; KI25 on the Kidney channel lies beside it in the second intercostal space and checks rebellious qi in the chest. One point on the midline and one on each side give a local frame over the upper lobes of the lungs, with the Kidney's grasping of qi supporting the Lung's descending function.
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 4.
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