Verscienta
GV15

Yamen

Star

啞門 (Yǎmén) — Gate of Muteness

Du (Governing) channel · point 15

Not yet clinically reviewed

Meeting point of the Du Mai with the Yang Wei Mai

Traditionally used for

  • Headaches
  • Nose & throat
  • Mood & calm
  • Nerves & recovery
  • Pain & joints

Cautions & contraindications

  • No moxibustion
  • No deep needling

Location

On the nape, on the posterior midline, in the depression above the spinous process of C2, 0.5 cun below GV16.

How to locate: Seat the patient with the head tilted slightly forward; on the midline 0.5 cun inside the posterior hairline, feel for the soft depression just above the spinous process of C2, the first bony prominence palpable below the occiput.

Regional anatomy: The needle passes through the skin and subcutaneous tissue into the nuchal ligament and interspinous tissue between the occiput and C2, toward the posterior atlanto-occipital region; the medulla oblongata and upper spinal cord lie deep to the point.

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

Body map, back: GV15 · Nape of neck
Fig. — GV15 · Nape of neck After Albinus, 1747
Body map, back: GV15 · Nape of neck

GV15 · Nape of neck · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

The vertebral column — Gray's Anatomy plate
The vertebral column Gray's Anatomy, 1918 Marker hidden while its position on this plate is re-checked.
The vertebral column — Gray's Anatomy plate

The vertebral column · 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
Between the bilateral mastoid processes: 9 B-cun (WHO 2008, General Guidelines, Proportional Bone (Skeletal) Measurements, p. 12).
Structures highlighted
Medulla oblongata (Spinal cord / medulla): “GV 15 yamen and GV 16 fengfu may puncture the medulla oblongata” — World Health Organization, Section II §5.2 (Central nervous system), p. 25.
Needle angle and depth
  1. Perpendicular (90° to the skin), 0.5–1 cun, slightly inferiorly. Leans slightly inferior; the lean is not drawn to scale. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 547

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

  • ⚠ Spinal cord / medulla
  1. Perpendicular insertion — slightly inferiorly
    Depth 0.5–1 cun
    skindeeper

Case reports: central nervous system injury after needling at this point (6 cases 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 (3)
  1. World Health Organization. Guidelines on basic training and safety in acupuncture. Geneva: WHO; 1999. WHO/EDM/TRM/99.1 — Section II §5.2 (Central nervous system), p. 25 Supports: spinal cord / medulla (names this point)
  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 2 (Central nervous system injury associated with acupuncture) Supports: spinal cord / medulla (case report)
  3. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 547 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

  • No moxibustion
  • No deep needling
Depth: 0.5–0.8 cun
Angle: Perpendicular or slightly downward, toward the mandible
⚠ Cautions: High-risk point. Never angle upward — the medulla oblongata lies directly deep. Observe the depth limit strictly, and do not use moxibustion.

Functions

  • Benefits the tongue and restores speech
  • Clears the mind and settles epilepsy
  • Expels wind
  • Benefits the neck and spine

Indications

Sudden loss of voice and post-stroke aphasiastiffness of the tongueepilepsy and maniaoccipital headache and stiff necknosebleed

Clinical Notes

Its name records the classical indication for muteness. Anatomically one of the most dangerous points on the body; the direction of insertion is not negotiable.

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.)

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