TCM Campus

All lessons   Module 6: Points   Lesson 9

Module 6   Lesson 9   Zu Yangming Wei Jing

The Stomach channel, part 1: ST-1 to ST-25

Twenty-five points between the eye and the abdomen: which do you choose for what lies beneath them, and which for what the channel does further on?

After this lesson you can follow the Stomach channel from beside the nose down onto the abdomen, divide the twenty-five points into five zones, name the facial points and ST-9 with their categories, work out ST-25, and you know what must go to a doctor first.

ST-9 ST-12 ST-18 ST-21 ST-25 Stomach, Spleen to the groin (lesson 10) ST-1 ST-4 ST-6 ST-7 ST-8 starts beside the nose, where LI-20 ends ST-1 to ST-25, eye to abdomen ST-1 Chengqi crossing Yang Qiao, Ren ST-2 Sibai local ST-3 Juliao crossing, Yang Qiao ST-4 Dicang crossing LI, Yang Qiao ST-5 Daying local ST-6 Jiache Ghost point ST-7 Xiaguan crossing, Gall-Bladder ST-8 Touwei crossing GB, Yang Wei ST-9 Renying Window of Heaven; Sea of Qi ST-10 Shuitu local ST-11 Qishe minor point ST-12 Quepen junction ST-13 Qihu minor point ST-14 Kufang minor point ST-15 Wuyi minor point ST-16 Yingchuang minor point ST-17 Ruzhong not treated ST-18 Rugen local: breast ST-19 Burong local ST-20 Chengman minor point ST-21 Liangmen local: stomach ST-22 Guanmen minor point ST-23 Taiyi minor point ST-24 Huaroumen minor point ST-25 Tianshu Front-Mu, Large Intestine 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. 56 from p. 973. Enlarged on the left: the facial part.

Know by heart

  • Pathway on the face. Starts beside the nose where the Large Intestine ends, goes to the inner corner of the eye, descends below the eye (ST-1), to the upper gums, around the mouth, along the jaw to the angle of the jaw (ST-6), up in front of the ear to the corner of the forehead (ST-8). mnemonic: nose, eye, mouth, jaw, ear, forehead.
  • Pathway in the neck and trunk. Along the neck (ST-9) to the hollow above the collarbone (ST-12); internally to the Stomach and Spleen, externally over the chest along the nipple line and over the abdomen beside the midline to the groin. The only Yang channel on the front of the trunk.
  • What the channel points to. Frontal headache, eyes, facial paralysis, toothache in the upper jaw, jaw and ear, throat and neck, breast and breastfeeding, stomach pain and nausea, bowels.
  • Five zones. Face ST-1 to ST-8, neck ST-9 to ST-12, chest ST-13 to ST-18, upper abdomen ST-19 to ST-24, and ST-25. What lies on the trunk acts mainly locally. mnemonic: eight, twelve, eighteen, twenty-four, twenty-five.
  • ST-25 Tianshu. Front-Mu of the Large Intestine. Bowels, constipation and diarrhoea. Heaven's Pivot between the upper and lower abdomen.
  • The face. ST-1 and ST-2 eyes; ST-4 and ST-6 drooping mouth and jaw (ST-6 is a Ghost point); ST-7 jaw joint and ear; ST-8 headache with a heavy head. mnemonic: eye, eye, mouth, jaw, ear, head: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8.
  • Neck and trunk. ST-9 Window of Heaven and Sea of Qi; ST-18 the breast; ST-21 stomach pain. Risk: eye socket (ST-1), carotid artery (ST-9), lung (ST-12 to ST-18).

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Stomach 1: ST-1 to ST-25: Twenty-five points between the eye and the abdomen: which do you choose for what lies beneath them, and which for what the channel does further on?
The chart as an image, to save or share

Three practice questions from this lesson

Which point is the Front-Mu point of the Large Intestine?
  1. ST-21 Liangmen
  2. CV-12 Zhongwan
  3. ST-25 Tianshu

Answer: ST-25 Tianshu. ST-25 Tianshu. CV-12 is the Front-Mu point of the Stomach; ST-21 has no category.

With which channels does ST-8 cross?
  1. Ren Mai and Yang Qiao
  2. Gall-Bladder and Yang Wei
  3. Large Intestine and Yang Qiao

Answer: Gall-Bladder and Yang Wei. ST-8 is a crossing point with the Gall-Bladder and the Yang Wei. ST-1 crosses with the Ren Mai and Yang Qiao, ST-4 with the Large Intestine and Yang Qiao.

Which three are the Window of Heaven points of the Lungs, Large Intestine and Stomach?
  1. LU-7, LI-4, ST-36
  2. LU-1, LI-20, ST-1
  3. LU-3, LI-18, ST-9

Answer: LU-3, LI-18, ST-9. LU-3, LI-18 and ST-9 (ch. 51 p. 860).

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 16 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.