Acupuncture Point Categories: Yuan Source, Luo Connecting, Shu Points...

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Acupuncture Point Categories

Traditional Chinese Medicine utilizes a number of theories which group acupuncture points together based on their functions and/or other relationships. Many of these theories are important in a clinical setting and are used, along with other theory and diagnostic information, to decide which acupuncture points will be used for a given condition.

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    Point Categories

    For complete information about a single point, click on it within the chart. For more information about a category, click on the "detailed theory" link

    Acupuncture Point Groupings by TCM Theory

    ¤ Five Shu Points - detailed theory

     

    Yin Meridians
    Jing-well
    (Wood)
    Ying-spring
    (Fire)
    Shu-stream
    (Earth)
    Jing-river
    (Metal)
    He-Sea
    (Water)
    LU LU 11 LU 10 LU 9 LU 8 LU 5
    PC PC 9 PC 8 PC 7 PC 5 PC 3
    HT HT 9 HT 8 HT 7 HT 4 HT 3
    SP SP 1 SP 2 SP 3 SP 5 SP 9
    LV LV 1 LV 2 LV 3 LV 4 LV 8
    KD KD 1 KD 2 KD 3 KD 7 KD 10
    Yang Meridians
    Jing-well
    (Metal)
    Ying-spring
    (Water)
    Shu-stream
    (Wood)
    Jing-river
    (Fire)
    He-Sea
    (Earth)
    LI LI 1 LI 2 LI 3 LI 5 LI 11
    TH TH 1 TH 2 TH 3 TH 6 TH 10
    SI SI 1 SI 2 SI 3 SI 5 SI 8
    ST ST 45 ST 44 ST 43 ST 41 ST 36
    GB GB 44 GB 43 GB 41 GB 38 GB 34
    UB UB 67 UB 66 UB 65 UB 60 UB 40

     

    ¤ Five Element Points - detailed theory

     

     
    Mother
    Child
    Lung (Metal) LU 9 LU 5
    Large Intestine (Metal) LI 11 LI 2
    Stomach (Earth) ST 41 ST 45
    Spleen (Earth) SP 2 SP 5
    Heart (Fire) HT 9 HT 7
    Small Intestine (Fire) SI 3 SI 8
    Urinary Bladder (Water) UB 67 UB 65
    Kidney (Water) KD 7 KD 1
    Pericardium (Fire) PC 9 PC 7
    Triple Heater (Fire) TH 3 TH 10
    Gall Bladder (Wood) GB 43 GB 38
    Liver (Wood) LV 8 LV 2

     

    ¤ Lower He Sea Points of the 6 Fu (Yang) Organs - detailed theory

     

    Large Intestine ST 37
    -Yang Ming-
    		 Stomach ST 36
    Triple Heater UB 39
    -Shao Yang-
    		 Gall Bladder GB 34
    Small Intestine ST 39
    -Tai Yang-
    		 Urinary Bladder UB 40

     

    ¤ Xi-Cleft Points - detailed theory

     

    Lung LU 6 Urinary Bladder UB 63 Yin Qiao Vessel KD 8
    Large Intestine LI 7 Kidney KD 5 Yang Qiao Vessel UB 59
    Stomach ST 34 Pericardium PC 4 Yin Wei Vessel KD 9
    Spleen SP 8 Triple Heater TH 7 Yang Wei Vessel GB 35
    Heart HT 6 Gall Bladder GB 36    
    Small Intestine SI 6 Liver LV 6    

     

    ¤ Yuan - Source Points - detailed theory

     

    Lung LU 9 Urinary Bladder UB 64
    Large Intestine LI 4 Kidney KD 3
    Stomach ST 42 Pericardium PC 7
    Spleen SP 3 Triple Heater TH 4
    Heart HT 7 Gall Bladder GB 40
    Small Intestine SI 4 Liver LV 3

     

    ¤ Luo - Connecting Points - detailed theory

     

    Lung LU 7 Urinary Bladder UB 58
    Large Intestine LI 6 Kidney KD 4
    Stomach ST 40 Pericardium PC 6
    Spleen SP 4 Triple Heater TH 5
    Heart HT 5 Gall Bladder GB 37
    Small Intestine SI 7 Liver LV 5

     

    ¤ Back Shu Points - detailed theory

     

    Lung UB 13 Urinary Bladder UB 28
    Large Intestine UB 25 Kidney UB 23
    Stomach UB 21 Pericardium UB 14
    Spleen UB 20 Triple Heater UB 22
    Heart UB 15 Gall Bladder UB 19
    Small Intestine UB 27 Liver UB 18
    Governing Vessel UB 16 Diaphragm UB 17
    Qihai (Sea of Qi) UB 24 Guanyuan (Gate of Source) UB 26
    Zhonglu (Center Back Muscles) UB 29 Baihuan (White Ring) UB 30
    Gaohuang (Vital Region) UB 43    

     

    ¤ Front Mu Points - detailed theory

     

    Lung LU 1 Urinary Bladder CV 3
    Large Intestine ST 25 Kidney GB 25
    Stomach CV 12 Pericardium CV 17
    Spleen LV 13 Triple Heater CV 5
    Heart CV 14 Gall Bladder GB 24
    Small Intestine CV 4 Liver LV 14

     

    ¤ Hui - Meeting Points - detailed theory

     

    Zang LV 13 Sinews GB 34
    Fu CV 12 Vessels LU 9
    Qi CV 17 Bones UB 11
    Blood UB 17 Marrow GB 39

     

    ¤ Extraordinary Vessel - Master Coupled Points - detailed theory

     

    Extraordinary Vessel
    Master Point
    Coupled Point
    Conception Vessel LU 7 KD 6
    Governing Vessel SI 3 UB 62
    Chong Vessel SP 4 PC 6
    Dai Vessel GB 41 TH 5
    Yin Qiao Vessel KD 6 LU 7
    Yang Qiao Vessel UB 62 SI 3
    Yin Wei Vessel PC 6 SP 4
    Yang Wei Vessel TH 5 GB 41

     

    ¤ Command Points - detailed theory

     

    Abdomen ST 36
    Lumbar Region UB 40
    Head & Posterior Neck LU 7
    Face & Mouth LI 4
    Heart, Chest & Epigastrium PC 6
    Fainting & Collapse GV 26

     

    ¤ The Four Seas - detailed theory

     

    Sea of Qi ST 9, CV 17, GV 15, GV 14
    Sea of Blood UB 11, ST 37, ST 39
    Sea of Water & Grain ST 30 (upper point), ST 36 (lower point)
    Sea of Marrow GV 20, GV 16

     

    ¤ Window of the Sky Points - detailed theory

     

    From Ling Shu
    Ch. 21
    From Ling Shu
    Ch. 2
    Renying ST 9 Tiantu CV 22
    Futu LI 18 Tianchuang SI 16
    Tianyou TH 16 Tianrong SI 17
    Tianzhu UB 10 Fengfu GV 16
    Tianfu LU 3 Tianchi PC 1

     

    ¤ Thirteen Ghost Points (from Sun Si Miao)

     

    Point Number
    Point Name
    GV 26 Ghost Palace
    GV 23 Ghost Hall
    GV 16 Ghost Pillow
    CV 24 Ghost Market
    LU 11 Ghost Faith
    LI 11 Ghost Leg
    PC 7 Ghost Heart
    PC 8 Ghost Cave
    ST 6 Ghost Bed
    SP 1 Ghost Fortress
    UB 62 Ghost Path
    Guifeng (Extra Point)
    on the underside of
    the tongue, one cun from
    the tip of the midline    		 Ghost Seal
    Essentially CV 1
    originally described as
    Yumentou (Extra Point - Women)
    /Yinxiafeng (Extra Point - Men)    		 Ghost Store

     

    ¤ Entry Exit Points - detailed theory

    The entry/exit points that are not the first or the last points on the meridian are marked with an "*" and with the first or last point within parentheses. The entry/exit points are also in red on the meridian flow diagram following the chart.

     

     
    Entry
    Exit
    LU LU 1 LU 7 *(LU 11)
    LI LI 4 *(LI 1) LI 20
    PC PC 1 PC 8 *(PC 9)
    TH TH 1 TH 22 *(TH 23)
    HT HT 1 HT 9
    SI SI 1 SI 19
    SP SP 1 SP 21
    ST ST 1 ST 42 *(ST 45)
    LV LV 1 LV 14
    GB GB 1 GB 41 *(GB 44)
    KD KD 1 KD 22 *(KD 27)
    UB UB 1 UB 67

     

    ¤ Shokanten Points and the Nine Continent Pulses - detailed theory

     

     

     
    Pulse Location
    Division
    Shokanten
    Effected Area
    Upper Tai Yang Tai Yang KD 12 Sides of the Head
    Middle TH 21 Shao Yang ST 25/KD 21 Eyes & Ears
    Lower ST 2 Yang Ming ST 27 Mouth & Teeth
    Upper LU 9 Tai Yin LV 13 Lungs
    Middle HT 7 Shao Yin KD 16 Heart
    Lower LI 4 Jue Yin LV 14/KD 19 Chest
    Upper LV 3 Tai Yin LV 13 Liver
    Middle ST 42 Shao Yin KD 16 Spleen

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    Sources and resources for further study

    There are many resources which discuss acupuncture and chinese medicine at varying levels. Our website is comprised from our lecture notes and clinical experience. Our research section includes a comprehensive list of the main texts and websites related to Chinese medicine. Below are sources relevant to this section:

          

    For a complete list of valuable resources, see our Acupuncture Theory Resources section.