Verscienta
HT4

Lingdao

Star

靈道 (Língdào) — Spirit Pathway

Heart channel · point 4

Not yet clinically reviewed

Jing-River pointMetal pointMetal point of the Heart channel

Traditionally used for

  • Mood & calm
  • Heart & circulation

Location

On the anteromedial aspect of the forearm, just radial to the tendon of flexor carpi ulnaris, 1.5 cun proximal to the palmar wrist crease (HT7), level with the upper border of the head of the ulna.

How to locate: Palpate the prominent flexor carpi ulnaris tendon on the little-finger side of the wrist, running down to the pisiform; the point is on its radial side, 1.5 cun above HT7, level with the upper border of the head of the ulna. HT5 and HT6 lie on the same line at 0.5 cun steps toward the wrist.

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

Body map, front: HT4 · Forearm
Fig. — HT4 · Forearm After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: HT4 · Forearm

HT4 · Forearm · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

Bones of the forearm — Gray's Anatomy plate
Bones of the forearm Gray's Anatomy, 1918
Bones of the forearm — Gray's Anatomy plate

Bones of the forearm · 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 cubital crease to the wrist crease: 12 B-cun (WHO 2008, General Guidelines, Proportional Bone (Skeletal) Measurements, p. 12). On the model, the cubital crease = line between the humeral epicondyles. On the model, the wrist crease = line between the radial and ulnar styloid tips.
Needle angle and depth
  1. Perpendicular (90° to the skin), 0.3–0.5 cun. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 215
  2. Oblique (45° to the skin), 0.5–1 cun, proximal or distal. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 215

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

Techniques — the source gives these as alternatives:

  1. Perpendicular insertion
    Depth 0.3–0.5 cun
    skindeeper
  2. Oblique insertion — proximal or distal
    Depth 0.5–1 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. 215 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.3–0.5 cun
Angle: Perpendicular
⚠ Cautions: The ulnar nerve lies close by — withdraw and redirect if the patient reports an electric sensation into the little finger.

Functions

  • Calms the spirit and regulates the Heart
  • Benefits the voice and relaxes the sinews

Indications

Cardiac pain and palpitationssudden loss of voicefear and anxietystiffness or contracture of the elbow and armdepression

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, HT4 at the forearm balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

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

Classical calendar method · 子午流注

When the tables open HT4

The hours Zi Wu Liu Zhu names this point at, by method. Times are the double-hour's start in UTC.

  • 丁酉 17:00–19:00 Na Jia Fa, 辛-day sequence · Jing-River (經)

    「丁酉心經靈道引」

    Next: Wed 14 Oct, 17:00

A classical reference, not a recommendation: the tables say when the method opens this point, not that it is the point to needle. Open points by the hour →

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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