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TB-15 Celestial Bone-Hole

天髎 〔天髎〕 tiān liáo

Alternate names: 天听 tiān tīng, Celestial Hearing

Channel: TB, hand lesser yáng (shào yáng) triple burner channel; shared point on the yáng linking (yáng wéi) vessel

Modern location: An acupoint located on the upper back, in the body of the trapezius muscle, immediately above the superior angle of the scapula, midway between SI-13 (nào huì) and GB-21 (fēng shì).

Classical location: One cùn above Shoulder Bone-Hole (TB-14) in the center of the supraclavicular fossa one cùn behind Shoulder Well (GB-21). From The Golden Mirror of Medicine (医宗金鑑 yī zōng jīn jiàn)

Local anatomy: The descending branch of the transverse cervical artery; deeper, the muscular branch of the suprascapular artery. The accessory nerve and the branch of the suprascapular nerve.

Action: Dispels wind and eliminates dampness; frees the channels and quickens the network vessels; relieves pain.

Modern indications: Shoulder and arm pain; painful stiffness of the neck and nape.

Classical indications: Generalized heat effusion with absence of sweating; heart vexation; tension in the nape and neck; pain in the supraclavicular fossa; heat effusion with aversion to cold.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.3‒0.5 cùn perpendicular insertion. Moxa: 3 cones (see Warnings); pole 5‒15 min.

Warning: Supplementing stimuli and moxibustion are contraindicated at this point in many older texts. Moxibustion at this point is said to cause facial swelling. Modern sources disagree with this, but suggest avoiding deep needle insertion.

Point groups: Intersection point (jiāo huì xué) of the triple burner channel and the yáng linking vessel (yáng wéi mài).

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