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Channel: TB, hand lesser yáng (shào yáng) triple burner channel

Modern location: An acupoint located on the lateral aspect of the head, immediately superior to the apex of the ear, just above the hairline.

Classical location: Up from Skull Rest (TB-19), at the place above the ear where a hollow appears when the mouth is opened. From The Golden Mirror of Medicine (医宗金鑑 yī zōng jīn jiàn)

Local anatomy: The branches of the superficial temporal artery and vein. The branches of the auriculotemporal nerve.

Action: Clears the head and brightens the eyes; courses wind and quickens the network vessels.

Modern indications: Swelling of the cheek; eye screens; toothache; stiff nape.

Classical indications: Swelling of the gums that prevents chewing; eye screens; stiffness in the nape and neck; red swollen auricle.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.1 cùn perpendicular insertion or 0.2‒0.8 cùn transverse insertion. Moxa: 3 cones; pole 5‒10 min.

Point groups: Intersection point (jiāo huì xué) of the gallbladder and triple burner channels.

Point name meaning:

• 角 jiǎo: angle, corner; horn; a constellation
• 孙 sūn: grandson; posterity, descendants; a young shoot

The location of TB-20 on the head is similar to that of the 角 (jiǎo) (horn) constellation, which occupies a spot on the head of a celestial dragon. 孙 (sūn) in this interpretation refers to the vertex, or end, of the angle (角 jiǎo) formed by the triple burner channel at this point, just as a grandson is the end of a family line. Thus interpreted the name is locational.

角 (jiǎo) may be a reference to the point’s location at the top corner of the ear. A Qing Dynasty dictionary defines 孙 (sūn) as equivalent to 遁 (dùn), to conceal or to vanish. The channel’s seeming disappearance (this branch of the channel ends at TB-20) suggests the name Corner Disappearance.

The character 角 (jiǎo) can also mean horn as in the horns of a bull, while 孙 (sūn) can mean young shoot or sprout. If humans sprouted horns, TB-20 is the spot from which they would grow. Corner Sprout is thus another possible translation of this name.

The character 孙 (sūn) can mean minute or very small, which would correspond to a reference to the minute network vessels (called 孙络 sūn luò) in the vicinity of this point. Translating the name as Corner Minute Network vessel would express this meaning. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

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