ACUPUNTURA.APP
KI24

Kidney Channel

Spirit Ruins

灵墟Língxū

Anatomical location

In the third intercostal space, 2 cun lateral to the anterior midline.

Main function

Regulates Lung Qi, benefits the chest, and treats respiratory and thoracic disorders.

  • Crossing point with the Lung

Therapeutic indications

  • Cough
  • asthma
  • chest pain
  • anxiety
  • nausea
  • Mastitis
  • Vomiting

Name and classical tradition

Lingxu, 灵墟, combines 灵 (靈), the spiritual or numinous, and 墟, the wasteland, the ruins, the abandoned place. It is one of the most enigmatic names on the chest. The modern gloss explains it with an image of emptiness: the Qi that arrives from KI23 is minimal and evaporates with the heat, leaving the point like a deserted site. No ancient text supports this.

The same 墟 appears in GB40, Qiuxu, with the sense of a great hill. Lingxu lies in the third intercostal space, in the series of spirit names on the channel between KI23 and KI25. The first work to record it is the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), and no alternate names are known.

Location of point KI24, Spirit Ruins
CC BY-ND 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
View point on the 3D modelKI24 on the anatomy
Needling techniqueOblique insertion 0.5-0.8 cun. Take care to avoid the pleura. Moxibustion is effective (3-5 minutes). Combine with Feishu (BL13) for asthma.
Depth0.5-0.8 cun
MoxibustionRecommended with caution (3-5 minutes)
Cover of the guide “Protocols for the 20 most common patterns”

Free guide · PDF

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.

Do you use KI24 with your patients?

In the Clinic you record it in the patient's file, next to the tongue, the pulse and the measurements, so at the next session you know exactly what you used. The Atlas is built in.

See the Clinic