Verscienta
ST16

Yingchuang

Star

膺窗 (Yīngchuāng) — Breast Window

Stomach channel · point 16

Not yet clinically reviewed

Traditionally used for

  • Cough & breathing
  • Menstrual & women's health
  • Heart & circulation

Cautions & contraindications

  • No deep needling

Location

On the chest, in the third intercostal space, 4 cun lateral to the anterior midline.

How to locate: Count down from the second rib at the sternal angle to the third intercostal space and follow it laterally, noting its upward slope, to the line 4 cun from the midline; in men this is one space above the nipple. The point is level with CV18 and KI24.

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

Body map, front: ST16 · Chest
Fig. — ST16 · Chest After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: ST16 · Chest

ST16 · Chest · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

The thorax, from in front — Gray's Anatomy plate Needling hazard — see Needling safety
The thorax, from in front Gray's Anatomy, 1918
The thorax, from in front — Gray's Anatomy plate Needling hazard — see Needling safety

The thorax, from in 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 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:

  1. Transverse-oblique insertion — laterally or medially along the intercostal space
    Depth 0.5–0.8 cun
    skindeeper
  2. Transverse insertion — superiorly or inferiorly along the channel
Reported mean safe needling depth, mm — Taiwanese adults (CT)
UnderweightNormalOverweight
Men 13.3 23.5 27.8
Women 19.0 26.6 29.4

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)
  1. 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)
  2. 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)
  3. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 142 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

  • No deep needling
Depth: 0.3–0.5 cun
Angle: Oblique or transverse
⚠ Cautions: Pneumothorax risk on deep perpendicular insertion.

Functions

  • Benefits the breasts and relieves swelling
  • Descends rebellious qi
  • Unbinds the chest

Indications

Mastitischest pain and fullnesscough and wheezing

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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