間使 (Jiānshǐ) — Intermediary Courier
Pericardium channel · point 5
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Digestion
- Menstrual & women's health
- Mood & calm
- Nerves & recovery
- Heart & circulation
Location
On the palmar aspect of the forearm, 3 cun proximal to the wrist crease, between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis.
How to locate: With the palm up, clench the fist or press the fingertips together to raise the palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis tendons; the point is between them, 3 cun above the wrist crease (3 cun proximal to PC7). If only one tendon shows, it is flexor carpi radialis and the point is on its ulnar side.
Distances are in cun, a proportional unit — how to measure.
3D view
The 3D view is not available on this device. The 2D maps above show the same point.
Drag, or focus the model and use the arrow keys, to rotate; + and − to zoom; 0 to reset; Esc to close.
Needle diagram for the marked point — a schematic section through the skin, not the model.
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.
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
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- Perpendicular (90° to the skin), 0.5–1 cun. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 374
- Oblique (45° to the skin), 1–1.5 cun, proximal. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 374
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:
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Perpendicular insertionDepth 0.5–1 cunskindeeper
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Oblique insertion — proximalDepth 1–1.5 cunskindeeper
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. 374 Supports: techniques (names this point)
Site notes · not cited
Functions
- Transforms phlegm and opens the orifices of the Heart
- Calms the spirit and settles mania
- Clears Heart fire
- Unbinds the chest
- Harmonises the Stomach and the middle burner
- Regulates menstruation
Indications
Balance Method partners
Under Dr. Tan's six systems, PC5 at the forearm balances these channels at the regions its segment images.
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1. Same Chinese nameLiver channelLower leg, Calf · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)Thigh · Reversed mirrorChest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/footUpper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/kneeSolve for the Liver channel →
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2. Branching (Bie Jing / Zang Fu Bie Tong)Stomach channelLower leg, Calf · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)Thigh · Reversed mirrorChest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/footUpper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/kneeSolve for the Stomach channel →
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3. Interior–exterior pairTriple Energiser channelForearm · Same segment, opposite sideChest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/footUpper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/kneeSolve for the Triple Energiser channel →
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4. Chinese clock oppositeStomach channelLower leg, Calf · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)Thigh · Reversed mirrorChest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/footUpper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/kneeSolve for the Stomach channel →
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5. Chinese clock neighbourKidney channelLower leg, Calf · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)Thigh · Reversed mirrorChest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/footUpper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/kneeSolve for the Kidney channel →
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6. Same channelPericardium channelForearm · Same segment, opposite sideChest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/footUpper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/kneeSolve for the Pericardium channel →
Classical calendar method · 子午流注
When the tables open PC5
The hours Zi Wu Liu Zhu names this point at, by method. Times are the double-hour's start in UTC.
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己卯 05:00–07:00 Na Jia Fa, 己-day sequence · Na (納) point
「己卯間使包絡止」
Next: Fri 23 Oct, 05:00
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 →
Clinical Notes
Similar Points
Ranked by shared patterns and conditions
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
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