SP10

Xuehai

Star

血海 (Xuèhǎi) — Sea of Blood

Spleen channel · point 10

Not yet clinically reviewed

Sea of Blood

Traditionally used for

Menstrual & women's health
Pain & joints
Skin

Location

On the medial side of the thigh, 2 cun above the medio-superior border of the patella, on the bulge of the vastus medialis.

How to locate: With the knee flexed, measure 2 cun up from the medial end of the upper border of the patella onto the bulge of vastus medialis. Alternatively, cup the patient's right kneecap in your left palm with the fingers pointing up the thigh and the thumb spread at about 45 degrees; the thumb tip rests on the point.

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

Body map, front: SP10 · Thigh — Fig. — SP10 · Thigh After Albinus, 1747

The femur — Gray's Anatomy plate — The femur Gray's Anatomy, 1918

Needling

Cited needling

Techniques — the source gives these as alternatives:

Perpendicular insertion

Depth 1–1.5 cun

skindeeper
Oblique insertion

Depth 1–1.5 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)

Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 196 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 1.0–1.5 cun

Angle: Perpendicular

Functions

Invigorates the blood and dispels blood stasis
Cools the blood and stops bleeding
Regulates menstruation
Benefits the skin, resolves dampness and stops itching

Indications

Irregular menstruation, amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoeauterine bleedingurticaria, eczema and generalised itchingskin disorders with heat in the bloodpain of the medial thigh and knee

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, SP10 at the thigh balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

1. Same Chinese name

Lung channel

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

Small Intestine channel

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

Stomach channel

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

Triple Energiser channel

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

Heart channel

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

Spleen channel

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

Clinical Notes

With LI11 it is the standard pair for itching and blood-heat skin disease; with SP6 it is the core blood-regulating pair in gynaecology.

Similar Points

Ranked by shared patterns and conditions

Geshu how are these connected? Taichong how are these connected? Sanyinjiao how are these connected? Xingjian how are these connected? Qihai how are these connected? Yongquan how are these connected?

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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