Bladder Channel
Connecting with Heaven
通天Tōng TiānAnatomical location
4 cun above the anterior hairline, 1.5 cun from the midline, 1.5 cun posterior to BL6, level with GV20 (Baihui).
Main function
Expels Wind, clears the nose, descends rebellious Qi, relieves nasal congestion, calms headache.
Therapeutic indications
- Headache
- vertigo
- dizziness
- nasal congestion
- epistaxis
- rhinitis
- sinusitis
- loss of smell
- facial pain
- facial paralysis
- convulsions
- epilepsy
- mania
- mental agitation
- Nasal obstruction
Name and classical tradition
Tongtian, 通天, means "to communicate with Heaven." 通 is to communicate, to pass through; 天, Heaven, which in the body is the vertex of the head. The Bladder channel passes through this point on its way to the highest part of the skull, where it crosses the Du Mai at GV20, Baihui. The reading is reasonable, although no ancient source expressly analyzes the name.
The Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) places it "在承光後一寸五分," one and a half cun posterior to BL6. The reference works attribute to it the alternative name 天臼, "mortar of Heaven," which the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing already records.
Other names
- 天臼Jiayi Jing
