Names and Locations of Acupoints

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the energetic pathways of Qi are called channels or meridians. The meridians are named after the energetic organ systems. In English, the acupoints are named for the channel that they are found on and the number of point that they are along the pathway. In Chinese, every point has a more poetic name. For example Kidney 1 is the first point on the Kidney Channel, in pinyin (the romanized system of Chinese characters) it is ‘yangquan’, which translates to ‘gushing spring.’

Acupoints can treat local or distal blockages of Qi or Blood. Points can also treat disorders of the TCM organs. For example, ST36 is found on the lower leg and can treat pain on the lower leg or knee, or elsewhere on the Stomach meridian, but can be used to strengthen, regulate and treat disorders of the digestive system. There can be an overlap in functions from a TCM to a western medicine standpoint, but it is important to distinguish that when we speak of the Organs in TCM, it is on a Qi, or energetic level and it is not a literal translation.

‘Cun’ the body inch

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) a cun ‘tsoon’ is the measurement we use to locate acupoints on the body. (i.e. Stomach 36 is 3 cun down from a depression on the outside of the lower portion of the knee). A cun is the same measurement for everyone, but different in that it is decided by each persons body. So 1 cun for you is the the distance of the widest part of your thumb. We can use our hands to measure upto 3 cun, after that we have to use boney landmarks on our bodies to locate acupoints.