Yang Wei Mai – Yang Linking Vessel

Chinese: 陽維脈   English: Yang Linking Vessel

Confluent (master) point: SJ-5   Couple point: GB-41

Pathway

1. Begins at UB-63 and rises through GB-35.
2. Climbs the lateral leg and passes through the hip region.
3. Rises to SI-10, then crosses the shoulder through SJ-15 and GB-21.
4. Runs up the neck and jaw, passing in front of the ear.
5. Rises to ST-8, then crosses the parietal region via GB-13, GB-14, GB-15, GB-16, GB-17, GB-18, GB-19 and GB-20.
6. Links with the Governing Vessel at DU-16 and DU-15.

Points on the Vessel

UB-63, GB-35, SI-10, SJ-15, GB-21, ST-8, GB-13, GB-14, GB-15, GB-16, GB-17, GB-18, GB-19, GB-20, DU-16, DU-15

Indications

• Visual dizziness
• Dyspnea
• Acute, sudden pain and swelling of the lumbar region
• Chills and fever
• Dyspnea with raised shoulders

Notes

• Pairing: SJ-5 (Yang Wei, hand) with GB-41 (Dai, foot); both marked Yang (+) in the pairing table.
• UB-63 is the Xi-Cleft (accumulation point) of the Bladder, used for channel pain and acute Bladder patterns.
• GB-35 is the Xi-Cleft of the Yang Wei; it treats acute pain along the GB channel, affects the Yang channels of the leg, and eases stiffness and cramping of the leg muscles.
• SJ-15 clears obstruction from the channel (local point for shoulder pain), opens the chest and regulates Qi.
• GB-21 is a local point for the shoulders and neck, relaxing the sinews and relieving stiffness; in gynecology (mamillary and uterus line) it benefits the breasts (breast pain, breast abscess, insufficient lactation) and promotes the descent of Qi (prolonged labor, retained placenta).
• ST-8 is a major local point that resolves Phlegm from the head (Yangming headache, eye problems); for dizziness from Damp-Phlegm compare Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang. ST-8 to DU-24 line: ST-8, GB-13, GB-15, UB-4, UB-3, DU-24.
• GB-13 calms the Shen (schizophrenia, split personality; the 'root' of the mind) and subdues Liver Yang and extinguishes Liver Wind (headache, epilepsy). It is the meeting point of the 3 arm Yang muscle channels.
• Muscle channel meeting areas: 3 arm Yang at the forehead (GB-13); 3 arm Yin in the thoracic cavity (GB-22); 3 leg Yang at the eyes (SI-18, ST-3); 3 leg Yin at the genitals (REN-3).
• GB-14 is a local point to clear Wind from the face (facial paralysis, deviation of eye and mouth, drooping or twitching eyelid) and brightens the eyes (itchy eyelid, eye pain, lacrimation, myopia).
• GB-15 subdues Liver Yang and extinguishes Liver Wind (headache, dizziness, epilepsy), brightens the eyes (pain above the eyebrows, blurred vision, lacrimation, red eyes) and calms the Mind (mood swings).
• GB-16 benefits the eyes: visual dizziness, superficial visual obstruction, red, swollen and painful eyes, short-sightedness.
• GB-17 subdues Liver Yang (headache, dizziness, blurred vision) and resolves Phlegm to open the Mind's orifices (obsessive thoughts, pensiveness, manic behavior).
• GB-18 subdues Liver Yang (headache, dizziness), calms the Mind and opens its orifices (obsessive thoughts, pensiveness) and benefits the nose (nasal congestion, nosebleed, sneezing); combine GB-18 + UB-7.
• GB-19 (Brain Hollow, Naohu) subdues Liver Yang, benefits the sense orifices (eyes, ears, nose) and calms the Mind (manic depression, fright, dementia); it lies directly above GB-20, level with DU-17 (Brain Door, Naokong, 1.5 cun directly above DU-16).
• GB-20 is a crossing point of the Yang Qiao and Yang Wei. It expels Exterior Wind via the Yang Wei (Exterior Wind with headache or eye disorders; GB-20 + LU-7 for Wind-Cold, GB-20 + SJ-5 for Wind-Heat) and extinguishes Interior Wind via the GB channel (dizziness, vertigo).
• GB-20 also subdues Liver Yang and Liver Fire (headache, tinnitus, deafness), brightens the eyes (blurred vision, cataract, iritis, optic nerve atrophy; the eye system emerges from the brain at the occiput; compare Huang Ju Hua vs Bai Ju Hua and Sang Ju Yin vs Long Dan Xie Gan Tang), and tonifies Marrow to nourish the brain (poor memory, dizziness, vertigo).
• DU-16 is a Window of Sky and Sea of Marrow point used for both Wind types: it extinguishes Interior Wind (opisthotonos, Wind-stroke, hemiplegia) and expels Exterior Wind (aversion to cold, fever, body aches, occipital stiffness and headache); compare Fang Feng, Chan Tui, Gou Teng, Bai Ji Li.
• DU-16 nourishes Marrow and benefits the brain (headache, dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision). Caution: it lies over the medulla oblongata, which regulates the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
• DU-15 is a Sea of Qi point; it benefits the tongue and speech (stiff or flaccid tongue, inability to speak, loss of voice; DU-15 + HT-5 for aphasia), extinguishes Interior Wind (Wind-stroke, epilepsy) and clears the Mind (heavy head, poor memory). Needle perpendicular 0.5-0.8.