GB19

Naokong

Star

腦空 (Nǎokōng) — Brain Hollow

Gallbladder channel · point 19

Not yet clinically reviewed

Meeting point of the Gallbladder channel with the Yang Wei Mai

Traditionally used for

Headaches
Dizziness
Eye health
Ears & hearing
Mood & calm
Nerves & recovery
Pain & joints
Heart & circulation

Location

On the head, directly above GB20, level with the upper border of the external occipital protuberance.

How to locate: With the patient seated or prone, find GB20 in the hollow below the occiput and move straight up to the level of the upper border of the external occipital protuberance (level with GV17); the point is there, about 2.25 cun from the midline.

Regional anatomy: Skin and dense subcutaneous tissue, then the occipital belly of occipitofrontalis.

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

Body map, back: GB19 · Crown & occiput — Fig. — GB19 · Crown & occiput After Albinus, 1747

Side view of the skull — Gray's Anatomy plate — Side view of the skull Gray's Anatomy, 1918

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

Transverse insertion

Depth 0.5–1.5 cun

skindeeper

Within the hairline: see the needling note at Hanyan GB4.

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)

Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 435 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.3–0.5 cun

Angle: Transverse

Functions

Clears the head and calms the spirit
Expels wind
Benefits the sense organs
Activates the luo-connecting vessels

Indications

Occipital headache and stiff neckdizziness and vertigopalpitations and anxietyepilepsytinnitusblurred vision

Combinations Using This Point

Naohu and Naokong

Naohu and Naokong, the two 'brain' points above the occiput, paired for headache, dizziness, stiff neck, seizures, ataxia and developmental delay.

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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