外陵 : Wailing : Outer Mound

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Master Tung's Bowel Nest Twenty-Three

Location:

On the abdomen, 2 cun lateral to the midline and 1 cun inferior to the umbilicus, level with Yinjiao Ren-7.

Needling:

Perpendicular insertion 1 - 1.5 cun

Warnings:

In thin subjects, deep needling may penetrate the peritoneal cavity

Classical Needling:

"The Yangming usually has much Qi and much Blood" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel can normally be needled or bled.
"The foot Yangming is to be pierced 6 fen deep and remain inserted for ten exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of eight fen and moxaed with five cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Regulates Qi and alleviates pain

TCM Indications:

• Severe abdominal pain, abdominal distension, Shan (疝) Disorder.
  
• Dysmenorrhoea amenorrhoea.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Cutaneous branches of thoracic nerves from T11

Dermatome Segment: T11

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

Listed in the Wu Bei Zhi 武備志 (Treatise on Armament Technology) by Mao Yuanyi 茅元儀 (1621), Article 21: Delayed Death Touches with Twelve-Hour (Shichen 時辰) Diagrams. This point, along with Shenmai Bl-62, is associated with Xu 戌 Dog (7-9 pm) and if struck during this time is said to cause death within 3 days from trauma to the hepatic artery (McCarthy, 2016, Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat).

Similar to Tianshu St-25, this point can cause great pain, power loss, knock out and diarrhoea, except that being slightly lower and less protected by the abdominals, it is likely to cause greater physical damage (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• Severe abdominal pain:
    Wailing St-26 and Tianshu St-25
    (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:

In Tung lineage acupuncture the Bowel Nest 23 (Fu Chao Er Shi San) are a group of points located in a line at 1 cun intervals between Ren-2 and Ren-10. An additional eight points on either side form a 4x5 grid at the levels of Ren-9 to Ren-5, also at 1 cun intervals. This would match with the alternative location for this point given in the Great Compendium. Ren-8, on the navel, is not included.

They are pricked using Tung's method in local disorders of pain, stagnation and heat in the abdomen such as uteritis, nephritis, umbilical area pain, enteritis, appendicitis and intestinal cancers (McCann, 2014, Pricking the Vessels).

In nine palaces abdominal acupuncture, this point is located in the region associated with ☶ Gen, Mountain, the northeast on the right; and ☷ Kun, Earth, the northwest on the left.

In Bo's abdominal acupuncture this region is associated with the Upper Burner on the right and the Lung and Large Intestine on the left, with this point also functioning to guides Qi and Blood in to the lower extremities. In Nine Palaces abdominal acupuncture, this whole region is associated with the lower limb on the same side (Schelbert, 2014, Ryan, 2009).

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