氣穴 : Qixue : Qi Cave

Location Guides:

Meetings:

Meeting of Kidney with Chong Mai

Location:

On the lower abdomen, 3 cun below the umbilicus, 2 cun above the superior border of the symphysis pubis, 0.5 cun lateral to the midline (Guanyuan Ren-4). Note: The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion locates this 1 cun from the midline.

Needling:

Perpendicular insertion 0.5 - 1 cun

Warnings:

Deep insertion will penetrate a full bladder which should therefore be emptied before treatment.

Classical Needling:

"The Shaoyin usually has little Blood and much Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Shaoyin is to be pierced 2 fen deep and remain inserted for three exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of one cun and moxaed with five cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Regulates the Ren and Chong Mai
Regulates the Lower Jiao

TCM Indications:

• Amenorrhoea, irregular menstruation, uterine bleeding, leucorrhoea, infertility in women.
  
• Difficult urination, incessant diarrhoea, abdominal pain, Running Piglet Qi (奔豚氣, Ben Tun Qi), rushing sensation up and down the lumbar spine, lumbar pain, redness of the eye originating at the inner canthus.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Iliohypogastric nerve (L1)

Dermatome Segment: L1

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

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

Major Combinations:

• Irregular menstruation and infertility:
    Qixue Kid-13 with Shenshu Bl-23, Qihai Ren-6, Sanyinjiao Sp-6 and Shangqiu Sp-5 (Deadman, Al-Khafaji and Baker, 2001, A Manual of Acupuncture).

Notes:

In nine palaces abdominal acupuncture, this point is located in the region associated with ☵ Kan, Water, the north and the Kidneys and Bladder organs (Schelbert, 2014, Ryan, 2009).

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