BL55

Heyang

Star

合陽 (Héyáng) — Confluence of Yang

Bladder channel · point 55

Not yet clinically reviewed

Traditionally used for

  • Menstrual & women's health
  • Pain & joints

Location

On the back of the lower leg, 2 cun below BL40, between the two heads of gastrocnemius.

How to locate: With the patient prone and the knee slightly flexed, find BL40 at the midpoint of the popliteal crease. The point is 2 cun directly below it, in the depression between the two heads of gastrocnemius, on the line towards BL57.

Distances are in cun, a proportional unit — how to measure.

Body map, back: BL55 · Calf
Fig. — BL55 · Calf After Albinus, 1747
Body map, back: BL55 · Calf

BL55 · Calf · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

Bones of the leg — Gray's Anatomy plate
Bones of the leg Gray's Anatomy, 1918 Marker hidden while its position on this plate is re-checked.
Bones of the leg — Gray's Anatomy plate

Bones of the leg · Gray's Anatomy, 1918

3D view

Approximate placement, carried over from our 2D body map onto a single adult male model (BodyParts3D) and checked against the point's location text. Shown on one side of the body. Locate the point on your patient by the location text and palpation, not by this model.

Cun on this part of the body
From the popliteal crease to the prominence of the lateral malleolus: 16 B-cun (WHO 2008, General Guidelines, Proportional Bone (Skeletal) Measurements, p. 13). On the model, the popliteal crease = knee joint line (femoral condyles / tibial plateau).
Needle angle and depth
  1. Perpendicular (90° to the skin), 1–1.5 cun. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 313

3D anatomy: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 International (licence). Subset, simplified and recoloured by Verscienta — changes and licence details.

Needling

Cited needling

  1. Perpendicular insertion
    Depth 1–1.5 cun
    skindeeper

Depths describe average adult habitus in the cited population, never a single safe number for the patient in front of you. Palpate and adjust.

Sources (1)
  1. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 313 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 1.0–2.0 cun
Angle: Perpendicular

Functions

  • Activates the channel and relieves pain
  • Regulates the lower burner and stops uterine bleeding

Indications

Low back pain radiating down the legcramping and pain of the calfuterine bleedinghernia

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, BL55 at the calf balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

  • 1. Same Chinese name
    Small Intestine channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Small Intestine channel →
  • 2. Branching (Bie Jing / Zang Fu Bie Tong)
    Lung channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Lung channel →
  • 3. Interior–exterior pair
    Kidney channel
    Lower leg, Calf · Same segment, opposite side
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Kidney channel →
  • 4. Chinese clock opposite
    Lung channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Lung channel →
  • 5. Chinese clock neighbour
    Small Intestine channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Small Intestine channel →
  • 6. Same channel
    Bladder channel
    Lower leg, Calf · Same segment, opposite side
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Bladder channel →

Sources

  • World Health Organization. WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region. Manila: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, 2008. (Location.)
  • Focks C, ed. Atlas of Acupuncture. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2008. (Locating method and actions.)

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