Back to search result Previous Next
Search in acupoints

GV-12 Body Pillar

身柱 〔身柱〕 shēn zhù

Alternate names: 尘气 chén qì, Dust Qi; 知利介 zhī lì jiè, Wisdom's Advantage Armor; 知利气 zhī lì qì, Wisdom's Advantage Qi; 智利毛 zhì lì máo, Wisdom's Advantage Hair

Channel: GV, governing (dū) vessel

Modern location: An acupoint located on the upper back, inferior to the spinous process of the third thoracic vertebra.

Classical location: Below the third vertebra. From The Golden Mirror of Medicine (医宗金鑑 yī zōng jīn jiàn)

Local anatomy: The posterior branch of the third intercostal artery. The medial branch of the posterior ramus of the third thoracic nerve.

Action: Dispels evils and abates heat effusion; clears the heart and stabilizes the mind; supplements the lung and clears provisioning.

Modern indications: Cough; panting; epilepsy; painful stiffness of the lumbar spine.

Classical indications: Tugging and slackening; vacuity taxation cough; upper orifice bleeding; generalized heat effusion with raving; wind stroke with inability to speak; heat in the chest.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.3‒0.5 cùn sideways and upward oblique insertion. Moxa: 3‒5 cones; pole 20‒50 min.

Needle sensation: Twinge and distension extending downward.

Point name meaning:

This point is located between the shoulder blades, below the third thoracic vertebra. As a part of the pillar of the spine, it provides support for the body. The name Body Pillar refers to both the spine in general and to this point on the spine in particular.

GV-12 is located between the Lung Transport (fèi shù) points and opposite to CV-17, the meeting (huì) point of qì. Lung qì is crucial for the support of the body, as is qì in general. The name Body Pillar may thus be a metaphor emphasizing this point’s relationship to qì, the pillar of the body.

In the alternate names the characters 智 (zhì), wisdom, and 知 (zhī), knowledge, are both rendered as wisdom. Though today the two carry different meanings, in ancient times 知 was used to express both knowledge and wisdom. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

Back to search result Previous Next