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All lessons   Module 6: Points   Lesson 14

Module 6   Lesson 14   Zu Taiyang Pangguang Jing

Bladder 2: from the sacrum to the little toe

Why does an acupuncturist choose a point in the back of the knee or at the ankle for low back pain, and what does a point on the little toe do in a breech presentation?

After this lesson you can follow the channel from sacrum to toe as a line, you know all points from BL-31 to BL-67 by name and category, you can work out BL-40 and BL-60 as key points, and you can weigh BL-62 and BL-67 side by side, with their limits.

After the back: two lines to the back of the knee inner line BL-31 to BL-34 35 36 37 38 BL-39 Eight Crevices buttock thigh He-Sea San Jiao outer line, beside the Back-Shu points 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Po Shen Hun Yi Zhi Gaohuang BL-40 He-Sea back of knee 55 56 BL-57 BL-58 BL-59 BL-60 61 BL-62 BL-63 BL-64 BL-65 BL-66 BL-67 Luo Xi Qiao River opening Yang Qiao Xi Yuan Shu Ying Well calf around the outer ankle outer edge of foot little toe link to KI-1: from Taiyang to Shaoyin of the foot
Schematic, not a location guide: only the order and rough regions. Circled in green: the key points BL-40 and BL-60; filled green: the five spirit points from lesson 13. San Jiao: Triple Burner. Course of the channel: textbook knowledge, after Ling Shu 10.

Know by heart

  • The course. The inner and outer lines meet in the back of the knee (BL-40); then over the calf, behind the outer ankle, along the outer edge of the foot to the little toe (BL-67), link to KI-1. mnemonic: two lines, one knee.
  • The categories. BL-67 Jing-Well, BL-66 Ying-Spring, BL-65 Shu-Stream, BL-64 Yuan, BL-63 Xi, BL-60 Jing-River, BL-58 Luo, BL-40 He-Sea; lower He-Sea: BL-40 Bladder, BL-39 Triple Burner. mnemonic: from the toe 67, 66, 65 in a row, then 64 source and 63 cleft; 60 river, 58 bridge, 40 sea.
  • BL-40 Weizhong, Middle of the Crook. He-Sea; command point of the back; low back pain, Heat. mnemonic: Middle of the Crook, middle of every back treatment.
  • BL-60 Kunlun, Kunlun Mountains. Jing-River; neck, back, headache; not in pregnancy. mnemonic: a mountain range at the ankle carries the whole back of the body.
  • BL-62 and BL-67. BL-62 Shenmai: opening point of the Yang Qiao, partner SI-3; sleep, eyes, neck and back. BL-67 Zhiyin: Jing-Well; moxa for breech presentation, and therefore on the pregnancy list.
  • Sacrum and calf. BL-31 to BL-34, the Eight Crevices: sacrum, urine, menstruation; lumbosacral, so pregnancy. BL-57 Chengshan: calf cramp, haemorrhoids.
  • Outer line. The five spirits BL-42, 44, 47, 49, 52 (lesson 13), and BL-43 Gaohuangshu for chronic exhaustion.

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Bladder 2: BL-31 to BL-67: Why does an acupuncturist choose a point in the back of the knee or at the ankle for low back pain, and what does a point on the little toe do in a breech presentation?
The chart as an image, to save or share

Three practice questions from this lesson

Where do the inner and outer Bladder lines meet?
  1. Behind the ankle, at BL-60
  2. On the sacrum, at BL-31 to BL-34
  3. Behind the knee, at BL-40

Answer: Behind the knee, at BL-40. Two lines, one knee: BL-40 Weizhong. BL-31 to BL-34 lie on the sacrum, BL-60 behind the ankle; there it is already one line.

What is the category of BL-40?
  1. Xi-Cleft; starting point of the Yang Wei
  2. Luo; bridge to the Kidneys
  3. He-Sea; command point of the back

Answer: He-Sea; command point of the back. BL-40: He-Sea and lower He-Sea of the Bladder; command point of the back. BL-63 is Xi-Cleft and starting point of the Yang Wei, BL-58 Luo.

Which point is the lower He-Sea point of the Triple Burner?
  1. BL-22 Sanjiaoshu
  2. BL-39 Weiyang
  3. BL-40 Weizhong

Answer: BL-39 Weiyang. BL-39. BL-22 is the Back-Shu point of the Triple Burner (lesson 13).

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 16 case-based practice questions, 15 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls and the bridge to physiology with evidence grades. This lesson belongs to module 6: Points.

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