Stomach Channel
Return
归来Guī LáiUse caution during pregnancy
Lower abdomen, point that acts on the uterus; avoid.
Anatomical location
4 cun below the navel, 2 cun lateral to the anterior midline, at the lateral border of the rectus abdominis muscle.
Main function
Regulates Qi, relieves pain, promotes the circulation of Qi and Blood, regulates menstruation.
Therapeutic indications
- Abdominal pain
- dysmenorrhea
- amenorrhea
- leukorrhea
- uterine prolapse
- irregular menstruation
- hernia
- testicular pain
- infertility
- impotence
Name and classical tradition
Guilai (归来) means “to return.” 归 (歸) is to go back; 来 (來), to come. The name is functional: the point treats what does not return to its place, such as uterine prolapse or hernia (疝氣), and the name expresses the desired effect, that things return to where they belong. This is the reading the sources give, consistent with the point’s indications.
The Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) records it with its alternate name and its location in a single sentence: “歸來，一名溪穴，在水道下一寸.” Guilai, also called Xixue, lies one cun below Shuidao, ST28. It is a direct quotation, and it confirms the alias 溪穴, “stream point.”
Other names
- 溪穴Jiayi Jing
