頭竅陰 : Touqiaoyin : Yin Portal of the Head

Location Guides:

Meetings:

Meeting of Gall Bladder with Bladder, Small Intestine and San Jiao

Location:

Posterior to the ear, along a curved line drawn from Tianchong GB-9 to Wangu GB-12 running within the hairline and more or less parallel to the line of the rim of the ear, in a depression about two third of the distance between Tianchong GB-9 and Wangu GB-12.

Needling:

Transverse insertion 0.5 - 1.5 cun in the direction of symptoms or to connect with other points.

Classical Needling:

"The Shaoyang usually has little Blood and much Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Shaoyang is to be pierced 4 fen deep and remain inserted for five exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of four fen, and moxaed with five cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Clears the head and benefits the sense organs
Activates the channel and alleviates pain

TCM Indications:

• Headache, dizziness, eye pain, ear pain, tinnitus, stiff tongue, bleeding from the root of the tongue, nauseating bitter taste in the mouth.
  
• Stiffness and pain of the neck, goitre, Throat Painful Obstruction (喉痹, Hou Bi).
  
• Pain of the lateral costal region, cough, absence of sweating, contraction of the sinews of the four limbs, bone taxation, agitation and heat of the hands and feet.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Greater occipital nerve from C2

Dermatome Segment: C2

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

See Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com for explanation of effects.

Major Combinations:

• Bleeding from the root of the tongue:
    Touqiaoyin GB-11 with Futu LI-18 and Dazhong Kid-4
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Stabbing pain of the head with inability to move:
    Touqiaoyin GB-11 with Qiangjian Du-18
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Pain of the nape of the neck:
    Touqiaoyin GB-11 with Xiaoluo SJ-12
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

Notes:

Among the Gall Bladder points of the head, there appear to be some that indicate they are special points for influencing the Zangfu and Channels, similar to the Front or Back Shu points. The name of this point, "Yin Portal of the Head" would make this a suitable candidate for the head-Shu for the Ren Mai.

In Tibetan medicine:
Moxa point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings)

Reference Notes:

Basic information on location, needle depth, TCM actions, indications and combinations is taken from Deadman et al (2001): A Manual of Acupuncture with additional anatomical information researched by reference to Gray's Anatomy (38th Ed., 1995) unless otherwise referenced. Images were found on acupunctureschoolonline.com and can be traced back to Claudia Focks (2008) Atlas of Acupuncture originally. I cannot claim any credit or rights over them. Other sources should be quoted in the text.

For some of the more unusual terms I have created a glossary here