LU3

Tianfu

Star

天府 (Tiānfǔ) — Celestial Storehouse

Lung channel · point 3

Not yet clinically reviewed

Window of Heaven point

Traditionally used for

Nose & throat
Cough & breathing

Location

On the anterolateral aspect of the upper arm, just lateral to the border of the biceps brachii, 3 cun below the anterior axillary fold.

How to locate: Have the patient tense the biceps against resistance to show its lateral edge. Measure 3 cun down from the anterior axillary fold in the groove along that edge, one third of the way from the fold to LU5 at the cubital crease.

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

Body map, front: LU3 · Upper arm — Fig. — LU3 · Upper arm After Albinus, 1747

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

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

Perpendicular insertion

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)

Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 78 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.5–1.0 cun

Angle: Perpendicular

Functions

Descends Lung qi and clears Lung heat
Cools blood and stops bleeding
Calms the po (corporeal soul)
Regulates qi in the upper burner
Opens the channel and alleviates pain

Indications

Nosebleedcoughing of bloodasthma and wheezingdisorientation and agitationpain along the medial upper armgoitre

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, LU3 at the upper arm balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

1. Same Chinese name

Spleen channel

Thigh · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
Lower leg, Calf · Reversed mirror
Lower abdomen, Sacrum · Image, head at the hand/foot
Solve for the Spleen channel →
2. Branching (Bie Jing / Zang Fu Bie Tong)

Bladder channel

Thigh · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
Lower leg, Calf · Reversed mirror
Lower abdomen, Sacrum · Image, head at the hand/foot
Solve for the Bladder channel →
3. Interior–exterior pair

Large Intestine channel

Upper arm · Same segment, opposite side
Lower abdomen, Sacrum · Image, head at the hand/foot
Solve for the Large Intestine channel →
4. Chinese clock opposite

Bladder channel

Thigh · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
Lower leg, Calf · Reversed mirror
Lower abdomen, Sacrum · Image, head at the hand/foot
Solve for the Bladder channel →
5. Chinese clock neighbour

Liver channel

Thigh · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
Lower leg, Calf · Reversed mirror
Lower abdomen, Sacrum · Image, head at the hand/foot
Solve for the Liver channel →
6. Same channel

Lung channel

Upper arm · Same segment, opposite side
Lower abdomen, Sacrum · Image, head at the hand/foot
Solve for the Lung channel →

Clinical Notes

One of the classical Window of Heaven points — used where rebellious qi carries heat or blood upward to the head, as in epistaxis with a full, agitated presentation.

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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