Head Points Flashcards
Du 20: BAIHUI One Hundred Meetings
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.)
