Verscienta
ST33

Yinshi

Star

陰市 (Yīnshì) — Yin Market

Stomach channel · point 33

Not yet clinically reviewed

Traditionally used for

  • Digestion
  • Nerves & recovery
  • Pain & joints

Location

On the anterolateral thigh, lateral to the rectus femoris tendon, 3 cun above the base of the patella — midway between ST32 and the lateral end of the base of the patella.

How to locate: With the patient seated and the knee flexed, place four fingers (3 cun) above the lateral end of the upper border of the patella; the point is at the top of the fingers on the line toward the anterior superior iliac spine, in the groove between rectus femoris and vastus lateralis.

Regional anatomy: Beneath the skin and subcutaneous tissue the needle passes along the lateral side of the rectus femoris tendon into vastus lateralis.

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

Body map, front: ST33 · Thigh
Fig. — ST33 · Thigh After Albinus, 1747
Body map, front: ST33 · Thigh

ST33 · Thigh · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

The femur — Gray's Anatomy plate
The femur Gray's Anatomy, 1918 Marker hidden while its position on this plate is re-checked.
The femur — Gray's Anatomy plate

The femur · 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
From the superior border of the pubic symphysis to the base of the patella: 18 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. 156
  2. Oblique (45° to the skin), 1–1.5 cun. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 156

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

Techniques — the source gives these as alternatives:

  1. Perpendicular insertion
    Depth 1–1.5 cun
    skindeeper
  2. 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)
  1. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 156 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 1.0–1.5 cun
Angle: Perpendicular

Functions

  • Expels cold and damp from the knee and leg
  • Activates the channel

Indications

Knee pain and coldnessnumbness and weakness of the leglower abdominal distension

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, ST33 at the thigh balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

Combinations Using This Point

Yinshi and Fengshi

ST33 and GB31 on the thigh — for a cold, painful, weak or numb leg and knee, and for generalised itching.

Similar Points

Yinbai how are these connected? (Yinbai)

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.)

📝 Notes

Public notes from the community and your own private notes on ST33 Yinshi.

No notes yet.

Log in or register to add your own notes.

Back to Points