List of acupuncture points
This article provides a comprehensive list of acupuncture points, locations on the body used in acupuncture, acupressure, and other treatment systems based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
More than four hundred acupuncture points have been described, with the majority located on one of the main meridians, pathways which run throughout the body and according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) transport life energy (qi, 氣). TCM recognizes twenty meridians, cutaneous and subcutaneous in nature, which have branching sub-meridians believed to affect surrounding tissues. Twelve of these major meridians, commonly referred to as "the primary meridians", are bilateral and are associated with internal organs. The remaining eight meridians are designated as "extraordinary", and are also bilateral except for three, one that encircles the body near the waist, and two that run along the midline of the body. Only those two extraordinary meridians that run along the midline contain their own points, the remaining six comprise points from the aforementioned twelve primary meridians. There are also points that are not located on the fourteen major meridians but do lie in the complete nexus referred to as jing luo (經絡). Such outliers are often referred to as "extra points".
Although many hypotheses have been proposed, the anatomical and physiological basis for acupuncture points and meridians remains elusive. Hypotheses include neural signaling, with possible involvement of opioid peptides, glutamate, and adenosine, and correspondence to responsive parts in the central nervous system; or mechanical signaling, with involvement of connective tissue (fascia), and mechanical wave activation of the calcium ion channel to beta-endorphin secretion. In practice, acupuncture points are located by a combination of anatomical landmarks, palpation, and feedback from the patient.
Twelve Primary Meridians:
Eight Extraordinary Meridians 奇 經 八 脈 (奇 经 八 脉), qí jīng bā mài (qí jīng bā mò):
In east Asian countries practitioners commonly refer to acupuncture points by their traditional names. Some points have several names. When acupuncture was adopted in the western world, a standard nomenclature was developed to unambiguously identify the acupuncture points on meridians. This model achieved wide acceptance and today virtually every book on acupuncture refers to acupuncture points using it. The World Health Organization (WHO) published A Proposed Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature Report in 1991, listing 361 classical acupuncture points organized according to the fourteen meridians, eight extra meridians, 48 extra points, and scalp acupuncture points, and published Standard Acupuncture Nomenclature in 1993, focused on the 361 classical acupuncture points. Each acupuncture point is identified by the meridian on which it is located and its number in the point sequence on that channel. For example, Lu-9 identifies the 9th acupuncture point on the lung meridian, tài yuān (太渊) or gui xin (鬼心), two names used for this same point. The only glitch with this unique systemized method can be found on the urinary bladder meridian, where the outer line of 14 points found on the back near the spine are inserted in one of two ways; following the last point of the inner line along the spine (會陽) and resuming with the point found in the crease of the buttocks (承扶), or following the point in the center of the crease of the knee (委中) and resuming with the point just below that (合陽), found in the bifurcation of the gastrocnemius muscle. Although classification of the extra points often tries to utilize a similar shortcut method, where a numbered sequence along an assigned body part is used, there is no commonly agreed-upon system and therefore universal identification of these points relies on the original naming system of traditional Chinese characters.
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