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Alternate names: 交仪 jiāo yí, Intersection Apparatus; 足厥阴之络 zú jué yīn zhī luò,

Channel: LR, foot reverting yīn (jué yīn) liver channel

Modern location: An acupoint located on the medial aspect of the lower leg, 5 cùn superior to the tip of the medial malleolus, in a small groove or dishlike depression on the tibia.

Classical location: Five cùn above the inner anklebone. From The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (针灸大成 zhēn jiǔ dà chéng)

Local anatomy: Posteriorly, the great saphenous vein. The branch of the saphenous nerve.

Action: Courses the liver and rectifies qì; disinhibits damp-heat.

Modern indications: Inhibited urination; enuresis; menstrual irregularities; vaginal discharge; mounting qì (shàn qì, inguinal hernia); wilting-impediment (wěi bì) of the lower limbs.

Classical indications: Scant flooding and spotting; painful swollen testicles; frequent erection; cold mounting (hán shàn); aching and cold in the feet and lower leg; lumbar pain; frequent belching; swelling and pain in the smaller abdomen; white vaginal discharge; yīn protrusion (yīn protrusion (prolapse of the uterus)).

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.2‒0.5 cùn backward oblique insertion. Moxa: 3 cones; pole 5‒10 min.

Needle sensation: Localized numbness and distension, sometimes extending up to the knee or the external genitalia.

Point groups: Network (luò) point.

Point name meaning:

• 蠡 lǐ: a wood-boring worm; a gourd; : ladle
• 沟 gōu: canal, ditch, channel

LR-5 is the network (luò) point of the liver channel and as such connects the liver and gallbladder channels. The point may therefore be named Woodworm Canal in reference to the network vessel that joins the two wood channels. The alternate name Intersection Apparatus supports this interpretation.

The character 蠡 (lǐ) can also mean ladle and in this respect may be seen to resemble the hollow formed by the space between the bone and flesh of the calf. That area also looks like a ditch (沟 gōu), and thus a rendering of the point name as Ladle Ditch could be preferred.

The character 蠡 (lǐ) can also mean gourd<.q> and could thus represent the gastrocnemius muscle, which can be said to resemble a gourd. A rendering of the point name as Gourd Ditch would highlight the point’s location in the groove next to the calf muscle. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

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