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

Modern location: An acupoint located on the dorsal aspect of the foot, proximal to the margin of the web between the second and third toes, level with the metatarsophalangeal (mtp) articulation of the second toe.

Classical location: Below Sunken Valley (ST-43), on the outer side of the second toe, in the depression in front of the base joint. From The Golden Mirror of Medicine (医宗金鑑 yī zōng jīn jiàn)

Local anatomy: The dorsal venous network of the foot. The point where the lateral branch of the medial dorsal cutaneous nerve divides into the dorsal digital nerves.

Action: Promotes free downbearing of stomach qì; harmonizes the intestines and transforms stagnation.

Modern indications: Toothache; painful swollen throat; deviated mouth; nosebleed; stomach pain and acid vomiting; abdominal distension; diarrhea and dysentery; constipation; febrile disease; painful swelling of the dorsum of the foot; febrile disease.

Classical indications: Clenched jaw; throat impediment (hóu bì); small intestinal mounting (xiǎo cháng shàn pain; malarial disease with no desire to eat; aversion to cold; urinary stoppage; rumbling intestines; abdominal distension and fullness; dormant papules.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.3‒0.5 cùn perpendicular insertion. Moxa: 3‒5 cones; pole 5‒7 min.

Point groups: Spring (yíng) (water) point; one of Mǎ Dān-Yáng’s twelve heavenly star points.

Point name meaning:

• 内 nèi: inside, inner
• 庭 tíng: courtyard, court

ST-44 lies between the toes, just as a courtyard lies between the rooms of a house. The point can be said to be inside the courtyard, or to be the inner courtyard itself. The fact that the character 内 (nèi) resembles the space between the toes supports this explanation.

The pictograph 内 (nèi) is a representation of a person 人 (rén) within an enclosure. It recalls a clinical association with the point name, for ST-44 may be used to treat loathing to hear human voices, which is a condition in which the patient shuts himself away, as in a room or court. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

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