Verscienta
SP6

Sanyinjiao

Star

三陰交 (Sānyīnjiāo) — Three Yin Intersection

Spleen channel · point 6

Not yet clinically reviewed

Meeting point of the Spleen, Liver and Kidney channels

Traditionally used for

  • Dizziness
  • Eye health
  • Digestion
  • Bowel health
  • Urinary & fluids
  • Menstrual & women's health
  • Fertility & vitality
  • Sleep
  • Mood & calm
  • Nerves & recovery

Cautions & contraindications

  • Pregnancy

Location

On the medial side of the lower leg, 3 cun above the prominence of the medial malleolus, just posterior to the medial border of the tibia (1 cun above KI8).

How to locate: Measure one handbreadth (four fingers, 3 cun) up from the most prominent point of the medial malleolus; the point is just behind the medial border of the tibia, usually in a depression that is tender to pressure.

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

Body map, front: SP6 · Lower leg
Fig. — SP6 · Lower leg After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: SP6 · Lower leg

SP6 · Lower leg · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

Bones of the leg — Gray's Anatomy plate
Bones of the leg Gray's Anatomy, 1918
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), 1–1.5 cun. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 189
  2. Oblique (45° to the skin), 1–1.5 cun, proximal. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 189

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

  • Pregnancy: contraindicated

Techniques — the source gives these as alternatives:

  1. Perpendicular insertion
    Depth 1–1.5 cun
    skindeeper
  2. Oblique insertion — proximal
    Depth 1–1.5 cun
    skindeeper

Traditionally forbidden in pregnancy (at least before 37 weeks). Carr (2015) reviewed the trials and found no objective evidence of harm from needling these points; the prohibition is traditional, not evidence-based.

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 (2)
  1. Carr DJ. The safety of obstetric acupuncture: forbidden points revisited. Acupunct Med. 2015;33(5):413-419 — Identifying sources of concern and relevant outcomes Supports: pregnancy (names this point)
  2. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 189 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

  • Pregnancy
Depth: 1.0–1.5 cun
Angle: Perpendicular
⚠ Cautions: Contraindicated in pregnancy — classically used to promote labour.

Functions

  • Tonifies the Spleen and Stomach and resolves dampness
  • Nourishes blood and yin of the Liver and Kidney
  • Regulates menstruation, benefits the uterus and promotes labour
  • Regulates urination and benefits the genitals
  • Calms the spirit and aids sleep

Indications

Irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhoea, amenorrhoea and infertilitydifficult labour and retained placentaabdominal distension, borborygmus and diarrhoeainsomnia and anxietydifficult or painful urinationnocturnal emission and impotenceoedemaleg weakness and numbnessdizziness and blurred vision from blood deficiency

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, SP6 at the lower leg balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

  • 1. Same Chinese name
    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 →
  • 2. Branching (Bie Jing / Zang Fu Bie Tong)
    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 →
  • 3. Interior–exterior pair
    Stomach 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 Stomach channel →
  • 4. Chinese clock opposite
    Triple Energiser 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 Triple Energiser channel →
  • 5. Chinese clock neighbour
    Heart 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 Heart channel →
  • 6. Same channel
    Spleen 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 Spleen channel →

Clinical Notes

The crossing point of all three leg yin channels, and after ST36 the most-used point in the repertoire. It is the foundation of almost every gynaecological prescription.

Combinations Using This Point

Miriam Lee's Ten Points

Five points needled bilaterally — LI4, LI11, ST36, SP6 and LU7 — as a single restorative prescription for the depleted, overworked patient.

Similar Points

Ranked by shared patterns and conditions

Taixi how are these connected? (Taixi) Zusanli how are these connected? (Zusanli) Taichong how are these connected? (Taichong) Zhaohai how are these connected? (Zhaohai) Guanyuan how are these connected? (Guanyuan) Pishu how are these connected? (Pishu)

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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