陽白 : Yangbai : Yang White

Location Guides:

Meetings:

Meeting of Gall Bladder with Yang Wei Mai, San Jiao, Stomach and Large Intestine

Location:

On the forehead, 1 cun superior to the middle of the eyebrow, directly above the pupil when the eyes are looking straight ahead. The distance between the eyebrow and the anterior hairline is measured as 3 cun.

Needling:

With the fingers of one hand pinch up the skin over the point and with the other hand needle transversely in an inferior direction 0.5 - 0.8 cun, or needle to connect with Yuyao (M-HN-6) at the midpoint of the eyebrow.

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 three fen and moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Eliminates Wind, benefits the head and alleviates pain
Benefits the eyes

TCM Indications:

• Pain of the forehead, pain of the supraorbital ridge, head wind, wind-cold headache, dizziness pain of the face.
  
• Eye pain, lacrimation on exposure to wind, night blindness, short sightedness.
  
• Deviation of the mouth and eye, upward staring eyes, drooping of the eyelid, twitching of the eyelids, pain and itching of the pupils.
  
• Inability to get warm despite wearing much clothing, shivering and aversion to cold on the back.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Supraorbital nerve, from ophthalamic branch of trigeminal (CN V1)

Dermatome Segment: CN V1 ophthalamic branch of trigeminal

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

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

Major Combinations:

• Head Wind with splitting sensation, pain between the eyebrow and the eye:
    Yangbai GB-14 with Jiexi St-41 and Hegu LI-4
    (Wang Guorui, 王國瑞, 1329: Bian Que Shen Ying Zhen Jiu, Yu Long Jing, 扁鵲神應針灸玉龍經, Bian Que's Spiritual Guide to Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Classic of the Jade Dragon).

Notes:

The frontalis trigger point is located close to this point but closer the midline, directly above the medial end of the eyebrow on the bladder channel (Travell & Simons, 1998, Trigger Point Manual).

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 "Yang White" is a reference to Large Intestine channel and its influence over Yangming type headaches would make it a suitable candidate for the head-Shu for the Large Intestine.

Jin's Three Needles for Calming the Shen locate a point 0.5 cun above this point, paired with another 0.5 cun above Yintang. All three are needled inferiorly. They are indicated for ADD, vertigo, ADHD, intellectual disability and general learning difficulties (eLotus, 2021).

A medieval phlebotomy point is located near here, but closer to the midline, directly above the medial end of the eyebrows, on the bladder channel (Hans von Gersdorff, 1517: Feldtbüch der Wundartzney, www.nlm.nih.gov)

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