Verscienta
LI15

Jianyu

Star

肩髃 (Jiānyú) — Shoulder Bone

Large Intestine channel · point 15

Not yet clinically reviewed

Meeting point of the Large Intestine channel with the Yang Qiao Mai

Traditionally used for

  • Cough & breathing
  • Nerves & recovery
  • Pain & joints
  • Skin

Location

On the shoulder, in the depression between the anterior end of the lateral border of the acromion and the greater tubercle of the humerus.

How to locate: Abduct the arm to horizontal; two hollows appear at the shoulder, in front of and behind the acromion. LI15 is the deeper, anterior one; TE14 is the posterior one.

Regional anatomy: Beneath the skin and subcutaneous tissue the needle passes through the deltoid and the subdeltoid (subacromial) bursa toward the supraspinatus tendon in the shoulder joint region.

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

Body map, front: LI15 · Shoulder
Fig. — LI15 · Shoulder After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: LI15 · Shoulder

LI15 · Shoulder · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

The humerus — Gray's Anatomy plate
The humerus Gray's Anatomy, 1918
The humerus — Gray's Anatomy plate

The humerus · 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

Techniques — the source gives these as alternatives:

  1. Perpendicular insertion — directed towards the centre of the axilla
    Depth 1–1.5 cun
    skindeeper

    With the arm abducted.

  2. Transverse-oblique insertion — directed distally towards the elbow
    Depth 1.5–2 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. 116 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.8–1.5 cun
Angle: Perpendicular with the arm abducted, or obliquely toward the elbow

Functions

  • Expels wind and dampness from the shoulder
  • Activates the channel, alleviates pain and benefits the joint
  • Regulates qi and blood and resolves phlegm

Indications

Shoulder pain and frozen shoulderinability to raise the armhemiplegiaurticaria and skin disordersscrofula

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, LI15 at the shoulder balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

Clinical Notes

The primary local point for shoulder disorders. Needling toward TE14 or downward along the deltoid is common for frozen shoulder.

Combinations Using This Point

Jianyu and Jianliao

LI15 and TE14 — the front and back hollows of the abducted shoulder — for shoulder and arm pain, arm spasm and hemiplegia.

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 LI15 Jianyu.

No notes yet.

Log in or register to add your own notes.

Back to Points