Verscienta
ST1

Chengqi

Star

承泣 (Chéngqì) — Container of Tears

Stomach channel · point 1

Not yet clinically reviewed

Meeting point of the Stomach channel with the Yang Qiao Mai and Ren Mai

Traditionally used for

  • Eye health
  • Nerves & recovery
  • Skin

Location

On the face, directly below the pupil, between the eyeball and the infraorbital ridge.

How to locate: With the patient seated or supine and looking straight ahead, place a finger directly below the pupil and feel for the bony infraorbital margin; the point is in the soft depression between that ridge and the eyeball.

Regional anatomy: The needle passes through the skin and orbicularis oculi of the lower lid into the orbit between the eyeball and the orbital floor, near inferior oblique and inferior rectus; the orbit is richly vascular and bruises easily.

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

Body map, front: ST1 · Head & face
Fig. — ST1 · Head & face After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: ST1 · Head & face

ST1 · Head & face · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

The skull, from the front — Gray's Anatomy plate Needling hazard — see Needling safety
The skull, from the front Gray's Anatomy, 1918
The skull, from the front — Gray's Anatomy plate Needling hazard — see Needling safety

The skull, from the front · Gray's Anatomy, 1918

3D view

3D view not available for this point: its position on the 3D model couldn't be checked against its location text, so it is not shown. The 2D maps above show it.

  • The 3D view is not available for this point, so the eyeball is not drawn. The eye risk above still applies.

Needling

Cited needling

  • ⚠ Eye
  1. Perpendicular insertion — between the eyeball and the inferior wall of the orbit
    Depth 0.5–1 cun
    skindeeper

    With the patient's eyes closed and looking upwards, push the eyeball up with a finger; insert first slightly inferiorly, then perpendicularly.

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. World Health Organization. Guidelines on basic training and safety in acupuncture. Geneva: WHO; 1999. WHO/EDM/TRM/99.1 — Section II §5.2 (Other points), p. 25 Supports: eye (names this point)
  2. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 130 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.3–0.7 cun
Angle: Perpendicular, directed slowly along the orbital ridge with the eye closed and the eyeball pushed gently upward
⚠ Cautions: High-risk point. Do not lift, thrust or rotate the needle; press the site firmly for at least a minute after withdrawal. Haematoma is common even with correct technique.

Functions

  • Expels wind, clears heat and benefits the eyes
  • Stops lacrimation

Indications

Red, swollen and painful eyesexcessive tearingnight blindness and blurred visiontwitching of the eyelidsfacial paralysis

Combinations Using This Point

Jingming, Chengqi and Qiuhou

Jingming, Chengqi and Qiuhou, three periorbital points for eye disease — from red painful eyes and lacrimation to myopia, glaucoma and optic neuritis.

Similar Points

Chengling how are these connected? (Chengling)

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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