Stomach Channel
Lower Great Hollow
下巨虚Xià Jù XūAnatomical location
9 cun below ST35 (Dubi) and 3 cun below ST37, one finger-width lateral to the anterior crest of the tibia.
Main function
Regulates the Small Intestine, eliminates Damp-Heat, relieves abdominal pain.
- Lower He-Sea point of the Small Intestine
Therapeutic indications
- Abdominal pain
- diarrhea
- dysentery
- knee pain
- testicular pain
- lower abdominal pain
- mastitis
- leg pain and paralysis
- low back pain radiating to the testicle
Name and classical tradition
Xiajuxu, 下巨虚, is the “lower great void,” the counterpart of ST37: the same broad hollow between the tibia and fibula, closer to the ankle. Like its partner, it had another name in the Lingshu (Spiritual Pivot): 巨虛下廉, “lower edge of the great void.” That old name brings it close to LI8, Xialian, the “lower edge” of the arm, a different point with which it should not be confused.
The Lingshu, in the chapter Xie Qi Zang Fu Bing Xing (邪氣臟腑病形), establishes it as the Lower He-Sea point (下合穴) of the Small Intestine: «小腸合入于巨虛下廉», the Small Intestine unites at the lower edge of the great void. In the chapter Si Shi Qi (四時氣), the same Lingshu states the principle that gives this function its meaning: «邪在府，取之合», when the disorder is in a Fu organ, treat it through its He-Sea point. Thus, the Stomach channel on the leg houses the meeting points of the two intestines, one above the other.
