Seventeenth Vertebra

十七椎Shí Qī Zhuī

Anatomical location

Below the spinous process of L5, on the midline.

Same point as CP75 · Shí Qī Zhuī Xià — Curious Points catalog

Main function

Regulates the uterus and menstruation, relieves low back and leg pain.

Therapeutic indications

Dysmenorrhea
metrorrhagia
sciatica
low back pain

Name and classical tradition

Shiqizhui, 十七椎, is the “seventeenth vertebra,” a name that is only an address: the ancient count began at the first thoracic vertebra, and the seventeenth is the fifth lumbar. The point lies on the midline, below its spinous process, between GV3 and the sacrum.

The Qianjin Yifang (Supplement to the Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) of Sun Simiao records it in its method for urinary retention from the “twisted bladder” (轉胞): “第十七椎，灸五十壯” — fifty cones on the seventeenth vertebra. Today it is used mainly for menstrual pain and low back pain.

Location of point EX-BW7, Seventeenth Vertebra — Reusable plate · CC BY-ND 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

View point on the 3D modelEX-BW7 on the anatomy

Needling techniquePerpendicular insertion.

Depth0.5-1 cun

MoxibustionApplicable.

PrecautionsNone in particular.

Protocols for the 20 patterns you see most in practice

Each pattern with its tongue, its pulse, the treatment principle and the points to tonify and disperse. Made for the treatment table, not the bookshelf.