Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
Cautions & contraindications
- No deep needling
Location
On the chest, in the first intercostal space, 4 cun lateral to the anterior midline.
How to locate: On the line 4 cun from the midline, palpate downward across the clavicle; the first rib is usually felt just beneath it, though it may be hidden under the bone. The point is in the intercostal space immediately below the first rib, level with CV20 and KI26.
Distances are in cun, a proportional unit — how to measure.
Needling hazard — see Needling safety
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 lung is not drawn: the anatomical model used here does not include it as a surface. This is a limit of the model, not of the anatomy. The pneumothorax risk above still applies.
Needling
Cited needling
- ⚠ Pneumothorax
Techniques — the source gives these as alternatives:
-
Transverse-oblique insertion — laterally or medially along the intercostal spaceDepth 0.5–0.8 cunskindeeper
-
Transverse insertion — superiorly or inferiorly along the channel
| Underweight | Normal | Overweight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 20.2 | 31.0 | 38.2 |
| Women | 20.6 | 30.4 | 35.1 |
CT-measured mean safe needling depths from Taiwanese adults, by sex and body size (Lin et al. 2013); population-specific and a guide only — adjust to the patient in front of you.
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 (3)
- Lin JG, Chou PC, Chu HY. An exploration of the needling depth in acupuncture: the safe needling depth and the needling depth of clinical efficacy. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:740508 — Tables 7 (male) and 8 (female), chest acupoints Supports: safe depth (measured)
- World Health Organization. Guidelines on basic training and safety in acupuncture. Geneva: WHO; 1999. WHO/EDM/TRM/99.1 — Section II §5.2 (Lung and pleura), p. 25 Supports: pneumothorax (names this region)
- Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 141 Supports: techniques (names this point)
Site notes · not cited
- No deep needling
Functions
- Descends rebellious qi and transforms phlegm
- Regulates qi and unbinds the chest
- Benefits the breasts
Indications
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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