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Channel: LU, hand greater yīn (tài yīn) lung channel

Modern location: An acupoint located on the upper arm, 3 cùn inferior to the anterior axillary fold, on the lateral side of the biceps brachii muscle.

Classical location: Located at a pulse three cùn below the armpit and five cùn above the elbow bone. The tip of the nose can just reach this point; dab the nose with ink to mark the spot. From The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (针灸大成 zhēn jiǔ dà chéng)

Local anatomy: The cephalic vein and muscular branches of the brachial artery and vein. The lateral brachial cutaneous nerve at the place where the musculocutaneous nerve passes through.

Action: Clears lung heat and regulates lung qì.

Modern indications: Panting; nosebleed; goiter; upper arm pain; pain in the medial aspect of the arm.

Classical indications: Cough with qì ascent; panting with inability to catch the breath; fulminant thirst; bleeding from nose and mouth; generalized swelling; wind sweating; abstraction and forgetfulness; lying down with inability to sleep; wailing and ghost talk; goiter; dizziness; tearing.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.3‒0.5 cùn perpendicular insertion. Moxa: pole 5 min.

Needle sensation: Localized numbness and distension spreading upward and downward.

Warning: Direct moxibustion contraindicated. The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (针灸甲乙经 zhēn jiǔ jiā yǐ jīng) states that moxibustion at this point is contraindicated because it causes qì counterflow.

Point name meaning:

• 天 tiān: celestial, of the heavens; sky; Nature; heaven
• 府 fǔ: house (as a residence or place where official business is conducted), especially collection house (a place where goods or money are collected) or dispatch house (a place incoming goods are dispatched to other places, the metaphor operant in the use of the term to denote six bowels, now written as 腑 fǔ).

Because it is the gathering place of celestial qì the lung is, in a sense, a Celestial Storehouse. The Líng Shū states, from the waist up is celestial, and from the waist down is earthly (腰以上为天，腰下为地 ). This analogy applies not only to position, but also to function. The lung receives qì from the earth and nourishes the body just as a storehouse receives produce from the land and nourishes the people, or as a treasury receives income and supports the country.

The character combination 天府 (tiān fǔ) is a star name, a place name and a government position. It is also an ancient expression for the breasts, the place in the upper body (天) where milk is stored. This point is located on the arm at the level of the breasts, and its name is helpful in reminding us of this fact. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

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