Lu-4 Xia Bai 侠白 Clasping the White
Lu-4 XiáBái 侠白 Clasping the White
【Name explanation】 1) 侠, Xiá, means to hold or to clasp; 白, Bái, means white. Lu-4 is located on the inside of the upper arm, at the sides of the lungs. The color of the Lungs are white therefore it is called Clasping the White.
2) 白, here refers to the white flesh (of the arms and legs). Lu-4 is located at the white flesh of the biceps muscle of the arm.
【First appearance】《The Systematized Canon of Acupuncture and Moxibustion(针灸甲乙经) 》.
【Location】Inside of the forearm, at a depression on the radial edge of the biceps, 4 cun below the anteror crease of the axilla, or 5 cun above the transverse crease of the elbow.
Localization note: Lu-4 is located 1 cun below Lu-3.
《The Systematized Canon of Acupuncture and Moxibustion(针灸甲乙经) 》: “Below Lu-3(天府) , 5 cun above the crease of the elbow, at the artery. ”
【Anatomy】skin, subcutaneous tissue, long head of the biceps, brachial muscle; superficially there is cephalic vein and cutaneous nerves of the lateral arm , deeper there is the brachial artery, brachial veins and musculocutaneus nerve distribution.
【Function】
Diffuse the lung rectify Qi
Open the chest
Harmonize the stomach
Calm the heart (mind)
【Clinical application】 Regulate Lung Qi, free the channels: Lu-4(侠白) is where the hand Tai Yin divergent channel (JingBie) separates from the regular channel, enters to the inner to the Lungs and scatters in the large intestine, comes to the surface at the supraclavicular fossa, joins with the large intestine channel at the neck, therefor needling it can regulate Lung Qi, and clear obstructions from the Yang Ming channel in the head and face as well as the TaiYin and Yang Ming channels in the upper arm. Lu-4 treats cough, shortness of breath, vexation and fullness in the chest, pain on the inside of the upper arm etc. Especially good to treat distending pain in the neck when coughing.
【Indications】cough, panting, dry retching, vexation and fullness, pain on the inside of the upper arm.
Respiratory system: bronchitis, bronchi wheezing and panting, pneumonia.
Other: tachycardia, inside of the upper arm nerve pain.
Classical records: cough, heart pain, shortness of breath, dry retching, red and white sweat macules.
Modern reports: bronchitis, tachycardia, rheumatic heart disease, upper arm pain, median nerve pain.
【Point combinations】
Combined with P-4(郄门) , P-5(间使), P-7(大陵), P-6(内关), SI-11(天宗), frees the channels and quicken the network vessels relieve pain, treats median nerve pain .
【Point combinations】
Rheumatic heart disease: Lu-4(侠白), UB-64(京骨).
【Technique】perpendicular insertion 0.5-1 cun. Cone moxibustion 3-5times, stick moxibustion 5-15 minutes.
【Classic texts】
《The Systematized Canon(甲乙经)》: heart pain, cough, dry retching, vexation and fullness, Lu-4(侠白) treats it.
《铜人》: treats heart pain, dry retching, vexation and fullness.
【Note】 Lu-4(侠白) is where the hand Tai Yin Lung divergence channel separates from the regular channel, it has the characteristics of separating, entering, exiting and combining.