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CV-4 Pass Head
关元 〔關元〕 guān yuán
Alternate names: 胞门 bāo mén, Bladder Gate; 脖胦 bó yāng, Navel; 产门 chǎn mén, Birth Gate; 持枢 chí shū, Junior Pivot; 垂浆 chuí jiāng, Fallen Sauce; 次门 cì mén, Second Gate; 大海 dà hǎi, Great Sea; 大涃 dà kùn, Great Reservoir; 大中极 dà zhōng jí, Great Central Pole; 丹田 dān tián, Cinnabar Field; 关原 guān yuán, Source Pass; 肓之原 huāng zhī yuán, Huang Origin; 精露 jīng lù, Essential Dew; 昆仑 kūn lún, Kunlun Mountains; 利机 lì jī, Crux Disinhibitor; 命门 mìng mén, Life Gate; 溺水 niào shuǐ, Urine; 气海 qì hǎi, Sea of Qi; 三结交 sān jié jiāo, Triple Intersection; 五城 wǔ chéng, Fifth City; 下肓 xià huāng, Lower Huang; 下纪 xià jì, Lower Regulator; 血海 xuè hǎi, Sea of Blood; 血室 xuè shì, Blood Chamber; 子肠 zǐ cháng, Infant's Intestine; 子处 zǐ chù, Infant's Place; 子宫 zǐ gōng, Infant's Palace; 子户 zǐ hù, Infant's Door
Channel: CV, controlling (rèn) vessel
Modern location: An acupoint located on the smaller abdomen, 3 cùn inferior to the umbilicus on the midline.
Classical location: Three cùn below the navel. From
Local anatomy: The branches of the superficial epigastric and inferior epigastric arteries and veins. The anterior cutaneous nerve of the subcostal nerve.
Action: Banks the kidney and secures the root; supplements qì and returns yáng; warms and regulates the blood chamber and the palace of essence; dispels cold-dampness and eliminates cold in the genitals; separates the clear and turbid; regulates original qì and dissipates evils; safeguards health and prevents disease.
Modern indications: Enuresis; frequent urination; urinary stoppage; diarrhea; abdominal pain; seminal emission; impotence; mounting qì (shàn qì, inguinal hernia); flooding and spotting; menstrual irregularities; vaginal discharge; infertility; vacuity taxation with marked emaciation.
Classical indications: Sudden stroke desertion patterns; all forms of vacuity detriment; conglomerations and gatherings; infertility; persistent flow of lochia; gripping pain below the umbilicus gradually extending to the genitals; bloody urine;
Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.5‒1.5 cùn perpendicular insertion. Moxa: 7‒14 cones; pole 20‒30 min.
Needle sensation: Distension and numbness extending downward to the perineum and the external genitalia; may also extend laterally above or below the point.
Warning: Needling of this point is contraindicated during pregnancy.
Point groups: Alarm point (mù xué) of the small intestine; intersection point (jiāo huì xué) of the three foot yīn (liver, spleen and kidney) channels and the controlling vessel.
Point name meaning:
Depending on which meaning of the character 关 (guān) is considered, passageway of original qì,
the critical juncture of original yáng and original yīn,
or the place where original qì is stored [locked in].
The rendering of this name as Origin Pass is an attempt to include all these ideas.
The plethora of alternate names for this point are a result of it being the site of the uterus (i.e., blood chamber), the