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SP6

Spleen Channel

Three Yin Intersection

三阴交Sān Yīn Jiāo

Contraindicated during pregnancy

Crossing point of the three foot Yin channels: moves Blood in the uterus. Contraindicated in pregnancy; used in labor together with LI4.

Anatomical location

3 cun above the apex of the medial malleolus, on the posterior border of the tibia.

Main function

Regulates the Spleen, Liver, and Kidney, nourishes the Blood, regulates menstruation.

  • Crossing point with the Spleen, Liver, and Kidney

Therapeutic indications

  • Dysmenorrhea
  • amenorrhea
  • edema
  • diarrhea
  • insomnia
  • hypertension
  • Irregular menstruation
  • Leukorrhea
  • Infertility
  • Difficult labor
  • Weak digestion
  • Abdominal distension
  • Dysuria
  • Enuresis
  • Impotence
  • Premature ejaculation
  • Pruritus
  • Urticaria
  • Dizziness
  • Leg pain
  • Obsessive disorder (ruminative thinking)
  • Depression
  • Cognitive decline and dementia
  • Multiple sclerosis (Wei syndrome)
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Diabetes mellitus (Xiao Ke)
  • Obesity and overweight
  • Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and triglycerides)
  • Hyperuricemia and gout
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease
  • Fatty liver
  • Kidney stones and renal colic
  • Venous insufficiency and varicose veins
  • Prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Endometriosis
  • Premenstrual syndrome
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Osteoporosis
  • Psoriasis
  • Atopic dermatitis
  • Alopecia areata
  • Acne
  • Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia
  • Chemotherapy-induced leukopenia
  • Anemia

Name and classical tradition

Sanyinjiao (三阴交) is the “intersection of the three Yin,” and the name describes exactly what the point is. On the inner side of the leg, above the ankle, the three foot Yin channels meet: those of the Spleen, the Liver, and the Kidney. That convergence is accepted classical doctrine, and the word 交, “to cross,” records it without metaphor.

Since it is not one of the five Shu points, it does not appear in the Ben Shu of the Lingshu (Spiritual Pivot). The earliest attribution located is the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) of Huangfu Mi, though without a literal quotation. From there, its status as the crossing point of the three Yin was maintained throughout the tradition, and in later literature it became one of the most widely used points in gynecology.

It has three alternate names. 承命, “support of life”; 太阴, “great Yin,” which the compendia explain by the markedly Yin nature of a point where three Yin channels meet; and 下三里, “lower Sanli.” This last one should be read carefully: it has no relation to ST36, Zusanli, or to LI10, Shousanli, and is only a positional reference.

Location of point SP6, Three Yin Intersection
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View point on the 3D modelSP6 on the anatomy
Needling techniquePerpendicular insertion 0.5-1.5 cun, angled slightly downward.
Depth0.5-1.5 cun
MoxibustionApplicable with caution (5-15 minutes, indirect moxa)
PrecautionsContraindicated in pregnancy.

Classical combinations · 3

  • Tonify Qi and BloodThe basic pairing: ST36 generates Qi and Blood from the Middle Jiao, SP6 nourishes the Yin and Blood of the three Yin channels of the foot.
  • DysmenorrheaMoves stagnant Blood in the uterus and loosens Liver Qi.
  • Nourish the Sea of BloodInfluential (Hui) point of Blood with the Shu point of the Spleen, which contains it, and the points that generate it.

Basic formulas from the vademecum · 6

View the vademecum

Named functional sets from the school: here the point does not act on its own, but through the role it plays within the maneuver.

  • Unblock the Lower EnergizerPregnancyLifts the stagnation of the lower abdomen: SP6 crosses the three Yin channels of the leg, SP9 drains Dampness as the He-Sea point of the Spleen, CV9 separates the clear from the turbid, and BL63, the Xi-Cleft point of the Bladder, unblocks everything at once.
  • PurgingPregnancyThe crossing of the three Yin channels of the leg used in dispersion: it moves downward and outward.
  • CoolingPregnancyIt does not disperse Heat: it replenishes the Yin that should contain it. KI3 as the Yuan-Source point of the Kidney, SP6 for the three Yin channels, and CV4 as the root of the Yuan Qi in the lower abdomen.
  • Tonify General YinPregnancyKidney Yin as the root, plus the two group Luo points of the Yin channels: SP6 gathers the three Yin channels of the foot and PC5 the three Yin channels of the hand. With two points, the Yin of all six channels is reached.
  • Tonify the BloodPregnancyCovers the three sources of Blood: it is produced in the Center (LR13, Influential point of the organs), gathered at BL17 (Influential point of Blood) and SP10, rooted in the Kidney (BL52, home of the Zhi, and CV4), and driven from LU9, the Influential point of the vessels. SP6 stitches the whole together.
  • Group LuoPregnancyThe four points that each govern three channels: SP6 the three Yin channels of the foot, PC5 the three Yin channels of the hand, TE8 the three Yang channels of the hand, and GB39 the three Yang channels of the foot. Twelve channels with four needles.
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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.

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