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LU-5 Cubit Marsh

尺泽 〔尺澤〕 chǐ zé

Alternate names: 鬼受 guǐ shòu, Ghost Endurance; 鬼堂 guǐ táng, Ghost Hall

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

Modern location: An acupoint located at the bend of the elbow, on the cubital crease, in the depression on the radial side of the biceps brachii tendon.

Classical location: Where a pulsating vessel can be felt on the elbow crease, in the depression between the sinew and bone, felt with the elbow flexed. From The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (针灸大成 zhēn jiǔ dà chéng)

Local anatomy: The branches of the radial recurrent artery and vein, the cephalic vein. The lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve and the radial nerve.

Action: Discharges lung fire; downbears counterflow qì; clears upper burner heat.

Modern indications: Cough; panting; coughing of blood; tidal heat; distension and fullness in the chest; painful swollen throat; fright wind; vomiting and diarrhea; hypertonicity and pain in the elbow and arm.

Classical indications: Shivering; tugging and slackening; hypertonicity and pain of the elbow and arm preventing normal stretching; cough and counterflow and panting and fullness; throat impediment (hóu bì); heart vexation; distension and fullness in the chest and rib-side; child fright wind; vomiting of blood (blood ejection); nosebleed; enuresis; dry tongue; sudden swelling of the limbs; cold in the arm; shortness of breath; retching and vomiting; heart pain.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.3‒0.5 cùn perpendicular insertion. Moxa: 3‒5 cones; pole 5‒10 min.

Needle sensation: Localized twinge and distension, or an electric numbing sensation traveling down the forearm.

Point groups: Uniting () (water) point.

Point name meaning:

Each transporting-shu point of the regular channels has a five-phase correspondence. The uniting () points on the yīn channels are water points. The character () marsh, is a reference to its designation as the water point of the lung channel. The point is located in a depression one foot (cubit)away from the pulse of the hand and is therefore named Cubit Marsh. By giving the point this name the ancients included references to both the location and the five-phase relationship of the point.

The word marsh in the point name also can serve to recall that LU-5 is the uniting () point of the channel. A marsh often exists where rivers unite with the sea, and the qì at uniting points is said to resemble the water of a river as it joins the sea. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

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