L.

Intestine
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Spleen
Heart
S. Intestine
YANGFU GB-38 INDICATIONS
YangBladder
Assistance • One-sided headache, pain of the outer canthus,
Kidney throat painful obstruction.
Jing-River and Fire point of the
Pericardium • Bitter taste in the mouth, sighing, pain of the chest
Gall Bladder
Sanjiaochannel and lateral costal region, chills and fever, sweating
with cold shivering, pain in the middle of the supra-
Gall Bladder
LOCATION clavicular fossa, swelling and pain of the axilla,
On theLiver
lateral aspect of the lower leg, 4 cun superior to the scrofula, malaria, blue-green (qing) complexion.
Conception
prominence of the lateral malleolus, at the anterior border • Wind painful obstruction with numbness, wandering
of theGoverning
fibula. pain of the joints, hemiplegia, contracted sinews,
Extra Points pain of the hundred joints, pain and numbness of the
lateral side of the lower limb, lower limb painful ob-
struction, oedema below the knee, leg qi, sensation in
the lumbar region as if sitting in water, severe lum-
bar pain, lumbar pain like a small hammer in the
popliteal crease middle of the back, pain of the lateral malleolus.

COMMENTARY
Yangfu GB-38 is the fire and jing-river point of the Gall
Bladder channel. According to the Great Compendium of
12 cun

Acupuncture and Moxibustion “when the Gall Bladder is

excess reduce Yangfu GB-38”. The main actions of Yangfu
GB-38 are to clear stagnation and heat from the entire course
of the Gall Bladder channel, clear shaoyang heat, and
benefit the sinews and bones of the whole body.
Yangfu GB-38 In the head, Yangfu GB-38 is an important point for one-
Xuanzhong GB-39 sided headache, principally due to Liver qi stagnation or
4 cun

uprising of Liver fire or Liver yang which transmit along the

tip of lateral malleolus
LOCATION NOTE
i. The distance between the tip of the lateral malleolus and
the popliteal crease is 16 cun; locate Yangfu GB-38 at the
junction of the upper three quarters and lower quarter of
this line; ii. Above the region of Xuanzhong GB-39, the
fibula is not easily palpable because it is covered by the
peroneus brevis muscle; therefore feel for the anterior
border of the fibula above the ankle joint where it is easily
palpable and extend a line towards the head of the fibula.
NEEDLING
Perpendicular insertion 0.7 to 1 cun.
ACTIONS
Clears Gall Bladder channel heat
Harmonises shaoyang
Benefits the sinews and bones
Activates the channel and alleviates pain
Gall Bladder channel. In the upper part of the chest, the Gall
Bladder channel passes anterior to the axilla. When qi and
phlegm stagnate (and in some cases transform into heat),
usually due to emotional causes, there may be swelling and
pain of the axilla or scrofula. In the chest and lateral costal
region, Yangfu GB-38 is indicated when qi stagnates and
gives rise to pain accompanied by sighing. In the lower
body, Yangfu GB-38 is indicated for pain extending along
the Gall Bladder channel on the lateral side of the lower limb
and the lateral malleolus. If pain in any of these regions is
severe, a blue-green (qing) colour may be seen on the
complexion. This colour, frequently observed around the
mouth, eyes, nose or temples, has traditionally been linked
with Liver disorders, severe pain or cold in the body.
According to both the Spiritual Pivot16 and the Essential
Questions17 “Taiyang is the opening, yangming is the closing
and shaoyang is the pivot”. The shaoyang is the pivot
between the interior and the exterior and Yangfu GB-38 is
indicated for the classic symptoms seen when a pathogenic
factor lodges in this ‘half-interior, half-exterior’ portion.
These include distinct alternating phases of chills and fever,
bitter taste in the mouth, pain of the chest and lateral costal
region and sighing. Malaria, for which this point is indi-
cated, is a classic example of shaoyang pattern.
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Bladder

According to the Spiritual Pivot18 “When the disease is at

the yin within yang (sinews and bones), needle the jing-
river points of the yin channels”. Although this passage
emphasises the yin channels only, it is clear from an
examination of the indications of Yangfu GB-38, the jing-
river point of the yang Gall Bladder channel, that it is
nevertheless an important point for wandering painful
obstruction, contraction and pain of the sinews, and pain
of the hundred joints (i.e. all the joints of the body). The
Gall Bladder primary channel descends from Zhangmen
LIV-13 to the sacral region, and Yangfu GB-38 is indicated
for a sensation in the lumbar region as if one was sitting in
water, severe lumbar pain, and lumbar pain like a small
hammer in the middle of the back.

COMBINATIONS
• Swelling of the axilla: Yangfu GB-38, Zulinqi GB-41,
Diwuhui GB-42, Weiyang BL-39, Shenmai BL-62 and
Tianchi P-1 (Thousand Ducat Formulas).
• Swelling of the axilla: Yangfu GB-38, Qiuxu GB-40
and Zulinqi GB-41 (Great Compendium).
• Swelling and sabre lumps of the axilla: Yangfu
GB-38, Xiaxi GB-43 and Taichong LIV-3 (Thousand
Ducat Formulas).
• Scrofula: Yangfu GB-38, Shaohai HE-3, Tianchi P-1,
Zhangmen LIV-13, Zulinqi GB-41, Zhigou SJ-6,
Jianjing GB-21 and Shousanli L.I.-10 (Great Compen-
dium).
• Wind painful obstruction: Yangfu GB-38 and Chize
LU-5 (Great Compendium).
• Wind painful obstruction: Yangfu GB-38, Tianjing
SJ-10, Chize LU-5, Shaohai HE-3 and Weizhong
BL-40 (Great Compendium).
• Bone painful obstruction and numbness of the hip
joint and knee: Yangfu GB-38, Yangjiao GB-35 and
Yanglingquan GB-34 (Thousand Ducat Formulas).
• Paralysis of the lower extremity: Yangfu GB-38,
Huantiao GB-30, Yinlingquan SP-9, Taixi KID-3 and
Zhiyin BL-67 (Great Compendium).