Verscienta
PC8

Laogong

Star

勞宮 (Láogōng) — Palace of Toil

Pericardium channel · point 8

Not yet clinically reviewed

Ying-Spring pointFire pointFire point of the Pericardium channelHorary point

Traditionally used for

  • Teeth & mouth
  • Digestion
  • Mood & calm
  • Heart & circulation

Location

On the palm, between the second and third metacarpal bones, where the tip of the middle finger rests when a fist is made.

How to locate: Have the patient make a loose fist; the point is where the tip of the middle finger rests on the palm, between the second and third metacarpal bones, just proximal to the knuckles.

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

Body map, front: PC8 · Hand
Fig. — PC8 · Hand After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: PC8 · Hand

PC8 · Hand · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

Bones of the hand, dorsal — Gray's Anatomy plate
Bones of the hand, dorsal Gray's Anatomy, 1918
Bones of the hand, dorsal — Gray's Anatomy plate

Bones of the hand, dorsal · 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.

Needle angle and depth
  1. Perpendicular — not drawn: WHO gives no proportional measurement for this part of the body.

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

  1. Perpendicular insertion
    Depth 0.5–0.5 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. 381 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.3–0.5 cun
Angle: Perpendicular
⚠ Cautions: A very sensitive point — warn the patient before needling.

Functions

  • Clears heat from the Heart and Pericardium
  • Calms the spirit and restores consciousness
  • Clears heat from the nutritive level and cools the blood
  • Harmonises the middle burner
  • Clears heat from the mouth and tongue

Indications

Mouth ulcers and bad breathmania and severe agitationfeverish palmscardiac painvomiting and nausealoss of consciousnessexcessive sweating of the palmsfungal infection of the hand

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, PC8 at the hand balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

Classical calendar method · 子午流注

When the tables open PC8

The hours Zi Wu Liu Zhu names this point at, by method. Times are the double-hour's start in UTC.

  • 乙未 13:00–15:00 Na Jia Fa, 乙-day sequence · Na (納) point

    「乙未勞宮水穴滎」

    Next: Mon 19 Oct, 13:00

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 →

Similar Points

Ranked by shared patterns and conditions

Shaochong how are these connected? (Shaochong) Zhaohai how are these connected? (Zhaohai) Zhongchong how are these connected? (Zhongchong)

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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