Verscienta
LV5

Ligou

Star

蠡溝 (Lǐgōu) — Woodworm Canal

Liver channel · point 5

Not yet clinically reviewed

Luo-Connecting point

Traditionally used for

  • Nose & throat
  • Urinary & fluids
  • Menstrual & women's health
  • Mood & calm
  • Skin

Location

On the anteromedial aspect of the lower leg, at the centre of the medial surface of the tibia, 5 cun above the prominence of the medial malleolus, level with KI9.

Focks' Atlas of Acupuncture places it just posterior to the medial crest of the tibia, between the bone and the gastrocnemius, rather than on the centre of the medial surface.

How to locate: Measure 5 cun up from the prominence of the medial malleolus, or go one third of the way up the line from the malleolus to the apex of the patella; the point is on the centre of the medial surface of the tibia, level with KI9.

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

Body map, front: LV5 · Lower leg
Fig. — LV5 · Lower leg After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: LV5 · Lower leg

LV5 · Lower leg · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

Bones of the leg — Gray's Anatomy plate
Bones of the leg Gray's Anatomy, 1918 Marker hidden while its position on this plate is re-checked.
Bones of the leg — Gray's Anatomy plate

Bones of the leg · 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
Note: From the inferior border of the medial condyle of the tibia (SP9) to the prominence of the medial malleolus is 13 B-cun (WHO 2008, General Guidelines, Proportional Bone (Skeletal) Measurements, p. 13).
Needle angle and depth
  1. Perpendicular (90° to the skin), 0.5–1 cun. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 482
  2. Oblique (45° to the skin), 1–2 cun, directed proximally towards the abdomen. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 482

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 0.5–1 cun
    skindeeper
  2. Oblique insertion — directed proximally towards the abdomen
    Depth 1–2 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. 482 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.5–0.8 cun
Angle: Transverse along the bone

Functions

  • Clears damp-heat from the lower burner and the genitals
  • Spreads Liver qi and regulates menstruation
  • Relieves genital itching
  • Resolves plum-pit qi
  • Moves qi in the channel

Indications

Genital itching and swellingvaginal dischargeirregular menstruation and uterine bleedingdifficult and painful urinationhernia and testicular paindepression and a lump sensation in the throat

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, LV5 at the lower leg balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

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

Clinical Notes

The Luo point of the Liver and the classical point for genital itching — an indication the channel's pathway around the genitals explains directly.

Similar Points

Ranked by shared patterns and conditions

Taichong how are these connected? (Taichong) Yinlingquan how are these connected? (Yinlingquan) Baihui how are these connected? (Baihui) Guanyuan how are these connected? (Guanyuan) Qihai how are these connected? (Qihai) Pangguangshu how are these connected? (Pangguangshu)

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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