Touwei and Toulinqi
Star頭維、頭臨泣 (Tóuwéi, Tóulínqì)
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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Stomach–Gallbladder–Yang Wei meeting point at the corner of the forehead; clears wind from the head and relieves pain.
Patient seated or supine. The point lies at the corner of the forehead, 0.5 cun inside the hairline and 4.5 cun from the midline, on the same line as GV24 and GB15 continued laterally. Thread the needle transversely toward the back of the head, 0.5–1.0 cun; it passes the subcutaneous tissue and enters temporalis. Seek a local ache or distension.
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Gallbladder point above the pupil at the hairline; benefits the eyes and clears the head.
Patient sitting or supine. Directly above GB14 (in line with the pupil), 0.5 cun within the anterior hairline — halfway along the line from GV24 to ST8. Insert transversely, 0.5–0.8 cun, through the subcutaneous tissue into the connective tissue beneath the galea aponeurotica, until an ache with numbness is felt locally.
Treatment Principle
Benefit the head and eyes and calm the spirit.
Indications
Method
Both points are needled transversely under the scalp at the front hairline, Touwei directed backward, with the patient sitting or lying supine.
⚠ Cautions
Moxibustion is classically contraindicated at Touwei. Loss of consciousness needs medical assessment; use the points alongside, not instead of, emergency care.
About
Two points on the front hairline — one above the eye, one at the corner of the forehead — used to clear the head and eyes and to settle the spirit.
Rationale
Both points are meeting points with the Yang Wei Mai: Touwei links the Stomach and Gallbladder channels, and Toulinqi links the Gallbladder and Bladder channels. The Yang Wei Mai binds the yang channels together over the head, so the pair acts on the forehead, temples and eyes as a single region.
Clinical Notes
Our point record gives 0.3–0.5 cun for Toulinqi; the source's 0.5–0.8 cun is safe transversely under the scalp.
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 2, combination 4.
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