Atlas of Acupuncture

4.3 The Stomach Channel System – Foot yangming(zu yang ming jing luo)

Location

Inferior to the anterior superior iliac spine and lateral to the sartorius

muscle, at the level of the lower border of the pubic symphysis.

How to find

The sartorius muscle originates at the anterior superior iliac spine

(ASIS) and crosses the thigh towards the medial aspect of the knee.

With the knee and hip slightly flexed and with active lateral rota-

tion, it can be isolated easily. ST-31is located on the lateral border

of the muscle, at the crossing point of a vertical line connecting the

ASIS and the lateral upper border of the patella and a horizontal

line at the level of the lower border of the pubic symphysis.

Needling

Vertically 0.5–2 cun

Actions/Indications

● Opens the channel, warms and expels pathogenic factors

Special features

Particularly useful for Cold bi-syndrome, disorders of the knees

and lower back. The chain-and-lock method in combination (➞8)

with ➞ST-36and ➞ST-41is often used for paraesthesia and

pain in the hip and leg radiating along the channel.

Thigh Gate BIGUAN ST-31

ST-31

Upper patellar

border

Upper border

of the pubic

symphysis

Lateral patellar

border

Sartorius

Anterior superior

iliac spine

ST-32

ST-33

ST-34

ST-35

ST-36

G.B.-34

ST-37

SP-12

SP-10

Ex-LE-4

SP-9

ST-31

LIV-8

LIV-9

LIV-10

LIV-11

Ex-LE-2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

4 8 cun

5

6

7

1

2

3

Ren-3

KID-11

Ren-2

20

cun

SP-11

ST-30

Highest

prominence

of the greater

trochanter

Popliteal

crease

19 cun

Upper border

of the pubic

symphysis

Upper border

Ex-LE-1 of the patella

Ex-LE-3

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