Du Mai (Governing Vessel) Channel
Clay Furnace
陶道Táo DàoAnatomical location
Below the spinous process of T1.
Main function
Expels Wind, strengthens the spine, relieves neck pain.
- Crossing Point with the Bladder
Therapeutic indications
- Neck pain
- headache
- fever
- stiff neck
- Malaria
- Stiffness of the back
- Headache
- Cough
- Chills
- Schizophrenia (Dian Kuang)
- Bipolar disorder (alternating Dian-Kuang)
- Acute psychosis
Name and classical tradition
Taodao, 陶道, combines 陶, which means the potter, the mound of clay, and also contentment, joy (陶然), and 道, the path. The gloss the sources record combines the two senses: the vertebrae rise one after another like a mound of clay, and the point would have the virtue of cheering the spirit. This is a somewhat idiosyncratic interpretation, from a secondary source, and should be taken with caution.
The point lies below the first thoracic vertebra. The sources attribute it to the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) and consider it a crossing point of the Du Mai with the foot Taiyang, a detail not verified with a direct quotation. No confirmed alternative names are known for it.
