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TB-12 Dispersing Riverbed
消泺 〔消濼〕 xiāo luò
Alternate names: 消烁 xiāo shuò, Dispersing Brilliance
Channel: TB, hand lesser yáng (shào yáng) triple burner channel
Modern location: An acupoint located on the posterior aspect of the upper arm, along the line connecting the tip of the olecranon and the acromial angle, midway between TB-11 (qīng lěng yuān) and TB-13 (nào huì).
Classical location: Up from Clear Cold Abyss (TB-11), on the outer aspect of the arm below the shoulder, in the depression at the parting of the flesh on the slanting line drawn from the end of the axillary crease to the elbow. From
Local anatomy: The median collateral artery and vein. The posterior brachial cutaneous nerve and the muscular branch of the radial nerve.
Action: Courses the channels, quickens the network vessels, and moves qì; clears and drains depressed heat in the triple burner.
Modern indications: Headache; toothache; stiff nape; shoulder and back pain.
Classical indications: Toothache; withdrawal disease; impediment (bì) pain.
Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.5‒0.7 cùn perpendicular insertion. Moxa: 3 cones; pole 5‒10 min.
Point name meaning:
The character 消 (xiāo) means to relieve
or eliminate,
while 泺 (luò) means riverbed,
representing water (note the water radical on the left). The point name refers to the clear, cool nature of water (i.e., the waterways regulated by the triple burner) that can clear heat and relieve thirst. Also brought to mind by this point’s name is the dispersal of water over a riverbed as a metaphor for the triple burner function of dispersing water throughout the body.
The translation of this point name as Dispersed Riverbed gives us the image of a depression left in the earth after a river has dispersed, just as the point is located in a depression.
The character 泺 read as luò or pò may be a reference to 淫泺 yín luò/pò, a name for either of two disease conditions. The first involves the prolonged retention of evil qì that is stagnant and difficult to remove, while the second is a specific ailment that presents with aching and lack of strength, usually affecting either the legs or arms. It is possible that the point name refers to the treatment of these disorders.
An alternate name for this point is 消烁 (shuò), which can be rendered as Dispersing Brilliance. 烁, which is the same as 泺 except that it has the fire (火) radical instead of the water radical (水), means brilliant,
luminous,
and according to some, fire.
This name reminds us of the function of the point in dispersing triple burner fire. According to some sources, this is the correct name of the point, while 泺 (shuò) is an incorrect substitute. See