Head Points Flashcards
(20 cards)
Du 20: BAIHUI One Hundred Meetings
Du 16 – 22: These lie on the mid-line of the head at a gap of 11/2 cun from each other. To find them take your piece of string and lay it along the Du Channel on the patient’s head, lining up the marks for Du 16 and Du 20. This gives you a length of 6 cun. Fold the string over twice in order to create quarter lengths, each of 11/2 cun, and mark the bends on the string using a new distinguishing colour.
Now lay the string again from Du 16 to Du 20 and mark off the positions of Du 17, 18,and 19 at the levels of
your new colour marks.
Lift the string up and re-place it with the first mark on Du 20 and the other end stretching over the mid-line of
the patient’s forehead. You can now mark off Du 21 and 22 where the 11/2 cun marks appear on the string.
Du 24 will be at the position of the third mark, and should be at 1/2 cun posterior to the mid-point of the
natural hairline of the forehead! Unfortunately, this does not work on everyone; the cun from the back of
the head does not always transpose exactly to the front, and in these cases palpates for the hollows of the points Du 21, 22 and 24 and then adjust your
marks accordingly. Now add in Du 23 midway between
Du 22 and the mid-point of the anterior natural hairline.
On the top of the head, on the mid-line, 7 cun superior to the posterior natural hair-line, or 5 cun posterior to the anterior natural hair-line.
There are three methods for finding this point. Initially it is of great help to use the assistance of a piece of string. As you become more familiar with the position of the point you can just use your hands and eyes.
Du 19: HOUDING Posterior Vertex
11/2 cun superior to Du 18.
St 8: TOUWEI Corner of the Head
The point is found at the lateral corner of the forehead, 41/2 cun from the mid-line, 1/2 cun posterior to the natural hair-line. This is the place on the forehead where a ‘classical’ hair-line forms a distinct angled corner. The point will be 1/2 cun diagonally up into the hair from the corner. It is at the meeting point of 2 intersecting lines:
i) 1/2 cun posterior to the anterior hair-line, following round from DU 24 through
BL 3, 4, GB 15 and 13.
ii) A vertical line 1/2 cun posterior to the hair- line at the temple. Hence.
Bl3=3/4 cunfromDu24
Bl4=11/2 cunfromDu24
1/3 distance from Du 24 to St 8
GB 15 = 21/4 cun from Du 24 1/2 distance from Du 24 to St 8
GB 13 = 3 cun from Du 24
2/3 distance from Du 24 to St 8
St8=41/2 cunfromDu24
The easiest way to locate St 8 therefore is to locate GB 15 which is directly superior to the centre of the pupil of the eye, 1/2 cun posterior to the natural hair-line, and then double the distance to locate St 8 at 4.5 cun
If the hair-line at the level of the upper part of the ear is vague and ill-defined, then trace up the pathway of the Stomach Channel from St 6 through St 7. Continue this vertical line to the corner of the forehead, curving very slightly to the posterior with the contour of the head.
On people who are bald you will need to use Du 24 and St 6 and St 7 to find your co-ordinates. On some bald heads it is possible to see a change in the quality of skin where the hair-line used to be.
Check that you are roughly in the right place by drawing an imaginary diagonal line from the corner of the person’s nose (LI 20), up over the lateral end of the raised arch of the eyebrow (directly superior to the outer canthus), and up to the hair-line at the corner of the forehead. This should coincide with the intersection of the two co-ordinates used for finding St 8.
Palpate for the hollow of the point, which tends to have a conspicuously characteristic feeling to it. Use the tip of one finger to probe the area for a place that is slightly softer, spongier, stickier and feels more alive than the surrounding area.
(As practice for getting to know the location of this point, observe people’s faces while you are watching TV, so that you start to recognise the position of St 8 in relation to the shape of the whole head of the person.)
Bl 3: MEICHONG Eyebrow Surging
Bl 3 lies directly superior to Bl 2, 1/2 cun posterior to the natural hair-line on the forehead, and on a horizontal level with Du 24. (Locate Bl 2 in the foramen at the medial end of the eyebrow).
Bl 3 lies on an imaginary horizontal line that circles the head from Du 24 to St 8. It lies at 1/6 of the distance from Du 24 to St 8, or midway between Du 24 and Bl 4, at 3/4 cun lateral to Du 24.
Bl 4: QUCHA Crooked Turn
This point lies on the horizontal line that circles the head from Du 24 to St 8, at 11/2 cun from the mid-line. It is found at 1/3 of the distance from Du 24 to St 8, at 3/4 cun lateral to Bl 3, and 1/2 cun posterior to the natural hair-line of the forehead.
TB 17: YIFENG Wind Screen
Flatten the bottom of the person’s earlobe against his neck. Slip the tip of your index finger just under the tip of his earlobe. The tip of your finger should now be on TB 17. The point lies in the middle of the depression between the mandible and the mastoid process. If you apply pressure the person will feel a very uncomfortable sensation. In order to needle the point you must bend the earlobe forwards in order to get it out of the way. Needle insertion is upwards and forwards towards the face.
TB 20: JIAOSUN
Angle Vertex Fold the person’s ear in half forwards, in order to highlight the topmost tip of the pinna. The point lies where the tip of the pinna touches the head, just superior to the natural hair-line.
GB 12: WANGU Completed Bone
The point lies in the depression inferior and posterior to the tip of the mastoid process. Put your finger on the prominence of the mastoid process. Roll your finger off the back of the process where you will fall into a depression. Ask your patient to nod his head up and down and this will highlight the hollow or crevice that you are feeling between bone and muscle.
The point lies 1 cun superior to TB 16, and slightly inferior to the level with Du 16.
GB 13: BENSHEN Shen Source
This point lies on the horizontal line that circles the head from Du 24 – St 8, at 3 cun from the mid-line. It is found at 2/3 of the distance from Du 24 – St 8, and 1/2 cun posterior to the natural hair-line of the forehead.
GB 14: YANGBAI Yang White
GB 14 is found on the forehead roughly 1 cun superior to the middle of the eyebrow and in line with the centre of the pupil of the eye. With the person looking staight ahead, locate the centre of the pupil. It lies at 1/3 of the distance from the middle of the eyebrow to the natural hair-line, or roughly 1 cun above the eyebrow.
If you look at the person’s head in profile, you will notice that the frontal bone of the forehead has a little dip between the first 1/3 and the last 2/3 above the eyebrow. From the centre of the eyebrow, feel up the forehead vertically in line with the centre of the pupil, to this dip, and then palpate for the slight hollow of the point.
GB 15: TOULINQI Head Overlooking Tears
The point lies directly above GB 14, and on the horizontal line that circles the head from Du 24 – St 8. It is found midway between these two points. (It is also midway between Bl 4 and GB 13.) GB 15 is thus at 21/4 cun from the mid-line and 1/2 cun posterior to the natural hair-line of the forehead.
GB 20: FENGCHI Wind Pond
The point lies at halfway from the mid-line of the neck to the lower edge of the mastoid process, in a recess between the trapezius and the sternocleidomastoid muscles. Starting with your index finger on Du 16 (see location above) slide your finger out laterally over the trapezius muscle until you arrive at a large hollow (21/4 cun from the mid-line). The point is found here about 1 cun above the natural hair-line, and just below the base of the occiput. (It is worth rocking your patient’s head above your finger in order to be sure that you are below the occiput.)
Anatomical landmarks:
7 cervical vertebrae. Occiput (occipital
protuberance).
* Mastoid process (prominence of the mastoid process).
Mandible.
* Temple.
* Ear – root and pinna.
* Anterior and posterior ‘natural’ hairline.
* Trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles.
Position of the patient:
Position of the marker:
Position of the patient:
Sitting up for most of the Du, Bladder and Gall Bladder
points so that they are accessible. To locate some of these
points it is also important that the practitioner can see the
whole of the patient’s head.
Stomach & Triple Burner points, and points near the front of
the head may be marked with the patient lying down.
Position of the marker:
Standing and moving around the patient in order to be able
to see the head from many different angles and heights.
Marking cun:
Longitudinal measurements:
3 cun from the mid-point between the eyebrows to the mid-point of the anterior natural hairline.
12 cun from the mid-point of the anterior natural hairline to the
mid-point of the posterior natural hairline. The posterior natural
hairline is where the main growth of the hair finishes and does not include the wispy strands of hair down the neck.
3 cun from the mid-line of the posterior natural hairline to the point below the spinous process of the 7th cervical
vertebra (Du 14).
The ‘natural’ hairline is a somewhat ambiguous concept varying from being well-defined on some people to a
gradual change, to a receding hairline or nothing at all on others. To help identify the anterior hairline, you can ask your patient to raise their eyebrows, where the forehead
creases stop, is in the region of the hairline.
For those people where it is unclear:
18 cun from the mid-point between the eyebrows to the point below the spinous process of the 7th cervical vertebra (Du 14). The accuracy of this measurement depends on the position in which the patient is carrying their head – if it is tilting forwards or backwards this lengthens and shortens
the measurement. Seat the patient so that their head is upright and straight.
Transverse measurements:
9 cun between the corners of the forehead, or between the angles of the anterior hairline at the lateral extremities of the forehead (i.e. at St 8).
9 cun between the prominences of the two mastoid processes.
Du Channel:
In order to mark out the Du Channel on the head, you must first mark Du 16 and then Du 20 as landmarks for the other points.
Method 1:
Sit your patient so that you may observe their forehead in profile. Take a piece of string and hold one end vertically on the mid-line of the person’s forehead. Mark a little line on the person’s forehead and on the string, at 1/3 of the distance from the mid-point of the eyebrows to the anterior hairline. This should be at the level of the top of the bulge above the
eyebrows, or 1 cun above the level of the eyebrows (level with GB14). Stretch the rest of the string over the top of the
person’s head and down to the posterior hairline. To avoid any problem with ambiguous hairlines, make sure that the level of the posterior hairline that you use is 1 cun inferior to Du 16 (the base of the occiput). Put a mark on the person’s
neck and the string at this place. Your piece of string now measures 14 cun between its two marks.
Next, fold the string in half between the two marks and put a mark at the fold. You now have two lengths of 7 cun each.
Replace the string on the person’s head, lining up its outermost marks with those on the person’s forehead and the back of their head. Put a mark on the person’s head at the half-way mark on the string (use a colour that stands out in contrast to the person’s hair).
Next take a look at the person’s ears. Check that they sit
reasonably level on each side of the head. Take another piece of string and place it over the vertex of the head and
down to meet the apex of each ear. Mark the string where it meets each ear. Take the string and put a mark half-way along it and then replace it on the person’s head. This will
give you the mid-line. Another method to help you identify the mid-line is to stand behind your patient, and place your hands either side of their head, tilt the head back and look for the mid-line from their nose which you can then extend back visually to the
area of Du 20. If necessary, adjust the mark on the person’s head to be at
the same cun distance from the hairline but to lie on the mid-line. This will be Du 20.
NB: On most heads, there tends to be a large inviting depression just posterior to the small one of Du 20. Make sure
that you have not been misled by this.
Method 2:
This method is not reliable on everybody’s head, but it is useful as a quick and easy guide when you know the location of the point sufficiently well that you can tell at a glance whether it is right or wrong.
Stand to one side of your patient. Lay one hand horizontally on the top of your patient’s head and place the other hand vertically against the back of your patient’s head.
Maintaining these positions, move your hands until the tips of your middle fingers touch each other. Now you have put an imaginary ‘box’ over the back of the patient’s head.
Draw an imaginary line bisecting the corner of the box and then travelling to the top of the patient’s head and you will land on Du 20. With your hands creating a 90-degree angle, the bisecting line runs at 45 degrees.
Whichever method you have used, as a final check, stand behind your patient and bring your head down to the same level as theirs. As you look up at the place where you have marked the point, it should be just visible since it lies very slightly posterior to the highest
part of the head. Now feel in the region of your mark for the depression of the point, as you did above when
using the string method. Du 16 – 22: These lie on the mid-line of the head at a gap of 11/2 cun from each other. To find them take your piece of string and lay it along the Du Channel on the
patient’s head, lining up the marks for Du 16 and Du 20. This gives you a length of 6 cun. Fold the string
over twice in order to create quarter lengths, each of 11/2 cun, and mark the bends on the string using a new
distinguishing colour.
Now lay the string again from Du 16 to Du 20 and mark off the positions of Du 17, 18,and 19 at the levels of
your new colour marks.
Lift the string up and re-place it with the first mark on Du 20 and the other end stretching over the mid-line of
the patient’s forehead. You can now mark off Du 21 and 22 where the 11/2 cun marks appear on the string.
Du 24 will be at the position of the third mark, and should be at 1/2 cun posterior to the mid-point of the
natural hairline of the forehead! Unfortunately, this does not work on everyone; the cun from the back of
the head does not always transpose exactly to the front, and in these cases palpates for the hollows of
the points Du 21, 22 and 24 and then adjust your marks accordingly. Now add in Du 23 midway between
Du 22 and the mid-point of the anterior natural hairline.
Bl 10: TIANZHU Heavenly Pillar
The point lies in a
depression in the trapezius muscle, about 1.3 cun lateral to Du 15 and just inferior to the occiput. Start with your finger on Du 15. (Du 15 lies on the mid-line of the neck, between C 1 and C 2, at about ½ cun below Du 16 and
roughly ½ cun above the natural hair line.) Roll your finger out onto the trapezius. On a person with a well-defined hairline, it lies roughly 1/2 cun superior to the natural hairline of
the neck, and 1.3 cun lateral to the mid-line.
Du 16: FENGFU Wind Treasury
Du 16 – 22: These lie on the mid-line of the head at a gap of 11/2 cun from each other. To find them take your
piece of string and lay it along the Du Channel on the patient’s head, lining up the marks for Du 16 and Du 20. This gives you a length of 6 cun. Fold the string over twice in order to create quarter lengths, each of 11/2 cun, and mark the bends on the string using a new distinguishing colour.
Now lay the string again from Du 16 to Du 20 and mark off the positions of Du 17, 18,and 19 at the levels of
your new colour marks.
Lift the string up and re-place it with the first mark on Du 20 and the other end stretching over the mid-line of
the patient’s forehead. You can now mark off Du 21 and 22 where the 11/2 cun marks appear on the string.
Du 24 will be at the position of the third mark, and should be at 1/2 cun posterior to the mid-point of the
natural hairline of the forehead! Unfortunately, this does not work on everyone; the cun from the back of
the head does not always transpose exactly to the front, and in these cases palpates for the hollows of the points Du 21, 22 and 24 and then adjust your
marks accordingly. Now add in Du 23 midway between
Du 22 and the mid-point of the anterior natural hairline.
This point lies just below the occiput. Run your index finger up the mid-line of the spine of the neck, until you reach
the base of the occiput. With your other hand on your patient’s forehead, gently rock the patient’s head backwards and forwards. This rocking will highlight the joint between the head and the neck. The point lies here just under the occiput. This is roughly 1 cun superior to the natural hairline.
Du 24: SHENTING Shen Courtyard
1/2 cun anterior to Du 23, or 1/2 cun posterior to the mid-point of the
anterior natural hairline.
GB 8: SHUAIGU Leading Valley
As with TB 20, fold the ear over forwards to find the apex of the ear. GB 8 is found superior to the apex of the ear 11/2 cun superior to the natural hairline.
GB 9: TIANCHONG Heavenly Surge
This point is found in relation to GB 8. Draw an imaginary vertical line at the posterior root of the ear. GB 9 lies just behind this vertical line, 1/2 cun posterior and slightly inferior to
the horizontal level of GB 8.
