LU4

Xiabai

Star

俠白 (Xiábái) — Guarding White

Lung channel · point 4

Traditionally used for

Cough & breathing
Digestion
Heart & circulation

Location

On the anterolateral aspect of the upper arm, just lateral to the border of the biceps brachii, 4 cun below the anterior axillary fold (5 cun above LU5).

How to locate: Have the patient tense the biceps against resistance. The point is in the groove on the lateral edge of the muscle, 1 cun distal to LU3; as a check, find the midpoint of the 9 cun from the axillary fold to the cubital crease and go 0.5 cun proximal.

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

Body map, front: LU4 · Upper arm — Fig. — LU4 · 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. 80 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.5–1.0 cun

Angle: Perpendicular

Functions

Descends Lung qi
Regulates qi and blood in the chest and relieves fullness
Opens the channel and alleviates pain

Indications

Cough and shortness of breathfullness of the chestcardiac painpain of the medial upper armnausea

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, LU4 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 →

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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