CV23

Lianquan

Star

廉泉 (Liánquán) — Ridge Spring

Ren (Conception) channel · point 23

Not yet clinically reviewed

Meeting point of the Ren Mai with the Yin Wei Mai

Traditionally used for

Nose & throat
Cough & breathing

Location

On the neck, on the anterior midline, in the depression above the hyoid bone, superior to the laryngeal prominence.

How to locate: With the patient seated or supine and the head tipped slightly back, run a finger up from the Adam's apple to the body of the hyoid bone; the point is on the midline in the soft depression just above its upper border.

Regional anatomy: Skin, subcutaneous tissue and platysma, then between the anterior bellies of digastric through mylohyoid and geniohyoid toward the root of the tongue, above the hyoid bone.

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

Body map, front: CV23 · Front of neck — Fig. — CV23 · Front of neck After Albinus, 1747

3D view

3D view not available for this point: its position on the 3D model couldn't be checked against its location text, so it is not shown. The 2D maps above show it.

Needling

Cited needling

⚠ Major vessel

Oblique insertion — in the direction of Baihui GV20

Depth 0.5–1.2 cun

skindeeper

Case reports: vascular injury or haematoma after needling at this point (1 case in Wu et al. 2015).

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 (2)

Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S. Systematic review of adverse effects: a further step towards modernization of acupuncture in China. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:432467 — Table 4 (Organ injury) and Table 8 (Hemorrhage) Supports: major vessel (case report)
Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 523 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.5–1.0 cun

Angle: Oblique, directed toward the root of the tongue

Functions

Benefits the tongue and the voice
Resolves phlegm and promotes speech
Clears heat and benefits the throat
Promotes the flow of saliva

Indications

Stiffness of the tongue and difficulty speaking after strokesudden loss of voiceexcessive salivation or droolingdifficulty swallowingdry mouthsore throat

Clinical Notes

The principal point for post-stroke dysarthria and swallowing difficulty, needled toward the tongue root.

Combinations Using This Point

Lianquan and Yamen

Lianquan at the front of the neck and Yamen at the back — a Ren–Du pairing for loss of voice, muteness and painful, swollen or ulcerated tongue.

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.)

📝 Notes

Public notes from the community and your own private notes on CV23 Lianquan.

No notes yet.

Back to Points