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All lessons   Module 6: Points   Lesson 11

Module 6   Lesson 11   Zu Taiyin Pi Jing

The Spleen channel, SP-1 to SP-21

Twenty-one points from toe to flank: how do you choose between tonifying, draining Dampness, and holding, moving or cooling the Blood?

After this lesson you can follow the Spleen channel from the big toe to the flank, you know the name and category of each point, you can work out SP-6, SP-9 and SP-10, and you can tell three kinds of Blood complaint apart.

SP-1, start SP-6, three Yin SP-8, Xi SP-9, He-Sea SP-10 SP-15 SP-21, end tongue root Heart Spleen, Stomach diaphragm crosses Liver SP-1 to SP-21, toe to flank SP-1 Yinbai Jing-Well, Wood SP-2 Dadu Ying-Spring, Fire SP-3 Taibai Shu-Stream, Yuan SP-4 Gongsun Luo; opens Chong SP-5 Shangqiu Jing-River, Metal SP-6 Sanyinjiao crossing, three leg Yin SP-7 Lougu minor point SP-8 Diji Xi-Cleft SP-9 Yinlingquan He-Sea, Water SP-10 Xuehai name: Sea of Blood SP-11 Jimen minor point SP-12 Chongmen crossing, Liver SP-13 Fushe crossing Liver, Yin Wei SP-14 Fujie local: bowel SP-15 Daheng crossing, Yin Wei SP-16 Fuai crossing, Yin Wei SP-17 Shidou minor point SP-18 Tianxi minor point SP-19 Xiongxiang minor point SP-20 Zhourong minor point SP-21 Dabao great Luo key point, module 1, lesson 16 often used on this channel internal or branch
Schematic, not a location guide. Pathway after Ling Shu 10 as the textbooks give it; compare the drawing in ch. 57 from p. 995.

Know by heart

  • Pathway. From the inner side of the big toe (SP-1) along the inner edge of the foot, in front of the inner ankle, up the inner side of the lower leg, knee and thigh; above the ankle it crosses the Liver channel. Into the abdomen to the Spleen and Stomach, through the diaphragm along the oesophagus to the root of the tongue, with a branch to the Heart; externally over the abdomen and chest to the flank (SP-21). mnemonic: toe, ankle, knee, belly, tongue, then out to the flank.
  • What the channel points to. Tired after eating, bloating, loose stools, a heavy body, Dampness and oedema, bleeding and menstruation, a stiff tongue root, pain on the inner side of the knee.
  • The Shu sequence. SP-1 Jing-Well, SP-2 Ying-Spring, SP-3 Shu-Stream and Yuan, SP-5 Jing-River, SP-9 He-Sea; SP-4 Luo, SP-8 Xi, SP-21 the great Luo. mnemonic: one, two, three, four the bridge, five, the cleft at eight, the sea at nine, the great embrace at twenty-one.
  • SP-6 Sanyinjiao. Crossing point of the three leg Yin. Tonifies the Spleen, nourishes Blood and Yin, gynaecology, sleep. Not in pregnancy.
  • SP-9 and SP-10. SP-9 Yinlingquan: He-Sea; drains Dampness, urinary tract. SP-10 Xuehai: the name is the function, Sea of Blood; moves and cools Blood, skin. mnemonic: nine drains the water, ten moves the Blood.
  • Tonifying and holding. SP-3 Yuan: tonifies the Spleen (patterns 6 and 8). SP-4 Luo and opening point of the Chong Mai, with PC-6. SP-1 bleeding. SP-8 Xi: acute period pain.
  • Red flag. Abnormal or heavy blood loss, blood in the stools or black stools, a one-sided swollen painful leg, sudden severe abdominal pain: see a doctor first.

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Spleen: SP-1 to SP-21: Twenty-one points from toe to flank: how do you choose between tonifying, draining Dampness, and holding, moving or cooling the Blood?
The chart as an image, to save or share

Three practice questions from this lesson

Which point is the Yuan point of the Spleen?
  1. SP-4
  2. SP-3
  3. SP-10

Answer: SP-3. SP-3 Taibai; on a Yin channel also the Shu-Stream point. SP-4 is Luo; SP-10 has no category, the name is the function.

Which point is both Luo and opening point of the Chong Mai?
  1. SP-4
  2. SP-21
  3. SP-3

Answer: SP-4. SP-4 Gongsun, with PC-6 as its opening partner. SP-21 is the great Luo.

Which point is the Xi-Cleft point of the Spleen?
  1. SP-8
  2. SP-10
  3. SP-6

Answer: SP-8. SP-8 Diji. SP-6 is a crossing point; SP-10 has no category.

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 17 case-based practice questions, 21 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls and the bridge to physiology with evidence grades. This lesson belongs to module 6: Points.

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