Bladder Channel
Master Cord of Yang
阳纲Yáng GāngAnatomical location
On the back, 3 cun lateral to the midline, at the level of the space between the spinous processes of T10 and T11.
Main function
Regulates the Gallbladder, drains Damp-Heat, relieves hypochondriac pain, strengthens the back.
Therapeutic indications
- Hypochondriac pain
- jaundice
- bitter taste in the mouth
- back pain
- abdominal distension
- vomiting
- abdominal pain
- borborygmi
- diarrhea
- intense thirst
Name and classical tradition
Yanggang, 阳纲, is the “master cord of Yang.” 綱 is the main cord of a net, the one that holds it up and on which the others depend, and by extension that which governs and orders. The point is on the outer line of the back, next to BL19, Danshu, the Back-Shu point of the Gallbladder, and the reference works explain it through that organ, which represents Yang and regulates it. The formulation is reasonable and consistent with the doctrine of the organs, but no classical citation expresses it in those terms.
The Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) locates it level with the tenth vertebra, three cun to each side, in a depression. It has no documented alternative names or period commentaries.
