Acupuncture Points Database - Locations, Functions and Clinical Usage
Acupuncture Points Database
Our acupuncture points section contains comprehensive information for the meridians and acupuncture points that are used in the clinical practice of acupuncture. You may start your exploration by clicking on the map below or choosing a meridian from the list.
Are you New to Acupuncture? If so, you should start by reading articles from our introductory section.
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Choose A Meridian To Start:
Selection of TCM Diagnostic Patterns
Selection of Conditions Treated Information
Related Sections, Tables, and Charts
- Acupuncture Point Selection Guidelines.
- Point Categories (Sky Window, Shu Points, Yuan Source Points, etc.)
- Common Acupressure Points - For Self Treatment.
- What is Qi? - Qi Theory in TCM
- Five Element Theory
- Pulse Diagnosis
- Tongue Diagnosis
- Other Sections:
- Chinese Theory Section
- Treatment Protocols
- Discussion Forums
Common Questions:
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What Is A Cun?
The cun is a measurement relative to the patients body that is used to find acupuncture points. Generally speaking one cun is equal to the space between the distal interphalangeal joint and the proximal interphalangeal joint on the middle finger. However, this cun can only be used on certain parts of the body when finding acupuncture points - on other points you use other relative landmarks. For example, the space from nipple to nipple is 8 cun and this 8 cun can be used to find points on the chest - the space from the center of the patella to the lateral malleolus is 16 cun and this 16 cun can be used to find points on the legs, etc. These cun landmark relationships are found within the "General" link for each meridian under the "Measurements Needed" section. For example - Stomach Meridian General Information. -
Can These Points Be Used For Acupressure As Well?
While there are many differences between acupressure and acupuncture both in what you can accomplish clinically and in the theories that help you to choose appropriate points, generally, yes, any point can be used for acupressure as well as acupuncture. The most commonly used acupressure points are within our acupressure points for self-treatment section. -
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Read this article. -
How Do I Apply Points For Various Conditions?
The proper application of acupuncture takes years of study, research and practice. The principle issue is to have a clear diagnosis before you begin treatment. Helpful articles and sections of our site are as follows: (1) Acupuncture Point Selection Guidelines, (2) TCM Diagnostic Patterns with related points and herbal medicines, (3) The acupuncture treatment articles for each condition within our conditions treated section.
Utilizing Our Acupuncture Point Database
For each meridian graphic you may hold your mouse over an acupuncture point and a popup with the location and precautions, if any, will come up.
On the graphic, as well as within any chart, you may click on an acupuncture point which will take you to the full description of that point. This includes the english name, chinese name, point associations, location, precautions and commonly agreed upon functions.
Within all of the acupuncture point detail pages you can click on any of the headers such as "Point Associations" or "Actions and Effects" and you will be taken to helpful charts that discuss all of the points on that particular meridian. Many of these are very helpful for students.
The right menu bar under "Applications" also contains useful links. When you are viewing a particular meridian look to the right bar and you will see "general", "graphic", "locations", ... Helpful information and study charts are within each of these links.
Finally, if you are looking for a specific point such as UB 13 you may type it into the search bar (at the top right of the page) as "UB 13" and you will get the link to that page.
Resources
The information within the acupuncture points section is drawn from our own lecture notes and clinical experience. The following lecture notes were used within this section:
- Ferro, Barbara: New England School of Acupuncture, Point Location Lecture Notes
- Hartstein, Rachel: New England School of Acupuncture, Actions & Effects Lecture Notes
For a complete list of valuable resources, see our Acupuncture Theory Resources section.
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