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Neijing

Knowledge baseAcupuncture points

GB-11

Touqiaoyin

*Yin* Portals of the Head

Also known asReed Hole *Yin* · *Yin* Cavity on the Head

Channel
Gallbladder
Classification
Crossing

Location

  1. 011 cun below GB-10 Fubai, at the base of the mastoid process.
  2. 02Behind the ear and within the hairline, on the arc from GB-9 Tianchong to GB-12 Wangu that roughly parallels the ear's rim — located in a depression just past two-thirds of the way along that curve.
  3. 03Behind the mastoid process, where the middle and lower thirds of the curved line joining GB-9 Tianchong and GB-12 Wangu meet.

Needling

  1. 01Insert obliquely, 0.5 to 1 cun.
  2. 02Needle transversely, 0.5 to 1.5 cun; direction can be varied to suit the complaint, aiming toward the painful site or linking with other points. Advance the needle past the subcutaneous layer rather than keeping it shallow.
  3. 03Insert subcutaneously, 0.3 to 0.5 cun.
  4. 04Moxibustion may be used.

Point functions

Meeting point of the Urinary Bladder, Small Intestine and San Jiao channels

Actions

  • Frees the channel
  • Relieves pain
  • Clears the head
  • Benefits the sense organs

Indications

  • Headache
  • Stiff neck
  • Earache
  • Tinnitus
  • Deafness
  • Bronchitis
  • Pain along the lateral rib region
  • Cough
  • Tightness of the sinews in the limbs
  • Dizziness
  • Eye pain
  • Stiff tongue
  • Bitter, sickening taste in the mouth
  • Neck pain
  • Goiter
  • Throat Bi
  • Anhidrosis
  • Bone taxation
  • Restlessness with heat in the hands and feet

Combinations

  • Bleeding at the base of the tongue

  • Stabbing head pain that prevents movement

  • Pain at the nape of the neck

Notes

Its action parallels that of GB-44 Zuqiaoyin.