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All lessons   Module 6: Points   Lesson 12

Module 6   Lesson 12   Shou Shaoyin, Shou Taiyang

Heart and Small Intestine: the channels and their points

Why does an acupuncturist choose HT-7 for insomnia, HT-6 for night sweating and SI-3 for a stiff neck, and what can they do with the other points of these two channels?

After this lesson you can draw both channels as a line, you know the name and category of all 28 points and the actions and indications of the key points, and you can explain why four Heart points side by side at the wrist have four different tasks.

Heart, Shou Shaoyin: from the chest to the little finger Heart HT-1 HT-2 HT-3 HT-4 HT-5 HT-6 HT-7 HT-8 HT-9 He-Sea River Luo Xi Yuan Ying Well armpit upper arm elbow wrist, four in a row palm little finger internal: Lungs, Small Intestine, throat, eye; the Luo vessel to the tongue root handover at the little finger Small Intestine, Shou Taiyang: from the little finger to the ear SI-1 SI-2 SI-3 SI-4 SI-5 SI-6 SI-7 SI-8 SI-9 to SI-15 SI-16, 17 SI-18 SI-19 Well Ying Shu, Du Yuan River Xi Luo He-Sea Window of Heaven little finger, hand edge wrist, forearm elbow shoulder, shoulder blade neck cheek, ear internal: Heart, Stomach, Small Intestine; lower He-Sea ST-39; link to BL-1
Schematic, not a location guide: the line shows the order of the points and the major regions, not where to find them. Highlighted in green: the two key points from module 1, lesson 16. Course of the channels: textbook knowledge, after Ling Shu 10.

Know by heart

  • The course. Heart: from the Heart via the armpit along the little-finger side of the inner arm to the little finger. Small Intestine: from the little finger along the edge of the hand, the shoulder blade and the neck to the ear. mnemonic: where the Heart stops, the Small Intestine starts.
  • Four Heart points at the wrist. HT-4 Jing-River, HT-5 Luo, HT-6 Xi, HT-7 Shu-Stream and Yuan; also HT-3 He-Sea, HT-8 Ying-Spring, HT-9 Jing-Well. mnemonic: 4, 5, 6, 7 is river, bridge, cleft, source.
  • HT-7 Shenmen, Spirit Gate. Shu-Stream, Yuan; calm the Shen, sleep, nourish Heart-Blood. mnemonic: you close the Spirit Gate at night.
  • The three neighbours of HT-7. HT-5 Tongli: Luo; tongue and speech, palpitations. HT-6 Yinxi: Xi; Heart-Yin, night sweating. HT-8 Shaofu: Ying-Spring; clear Heart-Fire. mnemonic: speak, sweat, scorch.
  • SI-3 Houxi, Back Stream. Shu-Stream; opening point of the Du, partner BL-62; neck, back, spine.
  • Small Intestine in order. SI-1 Jing-Well, SI-2 Ying-Spring, SI-3 Shu-Stream, SI-4 Yuan, SI-5 Jing-River, SI-6 Xi, SI-7 Luo, SI-8 He-Sea; lower He-Sea ST-39. Back-Shu and Front-Mu: Heart BL-15 and CV-14, Small Intestine BL-27 and CV-4. mnemonic: count from 1 to 8, the source sits at 4.
  • Red flag. Chest pain, palpitations with fainting or breathlessness, or sudden loss of voice with a drooping mouth: a doctor or emergency services first (112 in Europe, 999 in the UK, 911 in North America), not a point.

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Heart and Small Intestine: Why does an acupuncturist choose HT-7 for insomnia, HT-6 for night sweating and SI-3 for a stiff neck, and what can they do with the other points of these two channels?
The chart as an image, to save or share

Three practice questions from this lesson

Which four Heart points lie in a row at the wrist?
  1. HT-6, HT-7, HT-8, HT-9
  2. HT-4, HT-5, HT-6, HT-7
  3. HT-1, HT-2, HT-3, HT-4

Answer: HT-4, HT-5, HT-6, HT-7. HT-4 Jing-River, HT-5 Luo, HT-6 Xi, HT-7 Shu-Stream and Yuan: river, bridge, cleft, source.

What is the category of HT-7 Shenmen?
  1. Luo
  2. Xi-Cleft
  3. Shu-Stream and Yuan
  4. Ying-Spring and Fire point

Answer: Shu-Stream and Yuan. On a Yin channel the Yuan point coincides with the Shu-Stream point (module 1, lesson 15). HT-5 is Luo, HT-6 Xi-Cleft, HT-8 Ying-Spring and Fire point.

Night sweating and palpitations with Empty-Heat of the Heart. Which Heart point is added next to HT-7?
  1. HT-9 Shaochong
  2. HT-3 Shaohai
  3. HT-6 Yinxi

Answer: HT-6 Yinxi. HT-6 is the Xi point: nourish Heart-Yin, clear Empty-Heat, stop sweating. In pattern 14 it stands next to HT-7.

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 16 case-based practice questions, 18 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls and the bridge to physiology with evidence grades. This lesson belongs to module 6: Points.

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