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Channel: ST, foot yáng brightness (yáng míng) stomach channel

Modern location: An acupoint located on the upper abdomen, 3 cùn superior to the umbilicus and 2 cùn lateral to the midline.

Classical location: One cùn below Beam Gate (ST-21), two cùn either side of the midline. From The Golden Mirror of Medicine (医宗金鑑 yī zōng jīn jiàn)

Local anatomy: See ST-21.

Action: Regulates the stomach and intestines.

Modern indications: Abdominal distension; abdominal pain; rumbling intestines and diarrhea; water swelling.

Classical indications: Fullness in the chest and qì accumulation; pain in the stomach duct; acute pain in the umbilical region; enuresis; constipation; no desire to eat; phlegm malaria with shivering; qì moving in the abdomen.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.7‒1.0 cùn perpendicular insertion. Moxa: 5 cones; pole 5‒20 min.

Point name meaning:

• 关 guān: gate, barrier; to shut, to close
• 门 mén: gate, door

The lower gate of the stomach is located three cùn above the navel as is ST-22. Food in the digestive tract passes through this area on its way to the intestines, therefore this point is called Pass Gate.

ST-22 treats diarrhea, closing the lower gate and stopping the flow. A rendering of Shutting the Gate would clearly express this interpretation of the point name.

However, this point name could also be rendered simply as Gate since both 关 guān and 门 (mén) can have that meaning. The rendering Pass Gate is preferable because it shows the point’s connection to the area three cùn above the umbilicus, which is referred to as 关 (guān) (pass), and also draws attention to the point’s proximity to Stone Pass (KI-18). See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

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