Lung channel

The pathway

The Lung channel starts deep in the middle of the body, at the stomach, drops down to link with the Large Intestine, then rises through the diaphragm into the lungs and up to the throat. It surfaces on the upper chest below the outer end of the collarbone (LU1, LU2), runs down the thumb side of the inner arm, through the elbow crease (LU5) and along the forearm to the wrist, beside the pulse (LU9), crosses the pad of the thumb and ends at the corner of the thumbnail (LU11). A branch leaves just above the wrist (LU7) and runs to the tip of the index finger, where the Large Intestine channel begins.

In TCM theory, the Lung

• Governs Qi and breathing: it takes in the air from outside
• Spreads Qi and fluids out to the skin, and sends them downward through the body
• Keeps the skin and pores working, and with them the body's outer defences against wind and cold
• Opens into the nose and shows in the body hair; the throat and the voice depend on it

The 11 points

Point	Name	Where it is
LU1	中府 Zhōngfǔ Central Storehouse	Upper chest, level with the first rib space, a thumb's width below LU2, about two hands' widths out from the centre of the chest
LU2	雲門 Yúnmén Cloud Gate	In the hollow just under the outer end of the collarbone, inside the bony knob at the front of the shoulder
LU3	天府 Tiānfǔ Celestial Storehouse	Front of the upper arm, a hand's width below the front armpit fold, on the outer edge of the biceps
LU4	俠白 Xiábái Guarding White	Front of the upper arm, a thumb's width below LU3, on the outer edge of the biceps
LU5	尺澤 Chǐzé Cubit Marsh	On the elbow crease, just to the thumb side of the big biceps tendon
LU6	孔最 Kǒngzuì Greatest Opening	Thumb side of the forearm, seven thumb-widths above the wrist crease, on the line from LU5 to LU9
LU7	列缺 Lièquē Broken Line	Two fingers above the wrist crease, just above the bony bump on the thumb side of the wrist, in the groove between two tendons
LU8	經渠 Jīngqú Channel Ditch	A thumb's width above the wrist crease, between the bony bump of the wrist and the pulse
LU9	太淵 Tàiyuān Great Abyss	On the wrist crease at the thumb side, in the hollow just outside the pulse
LU10	魚際 Yújì Fish Border	On the fleshy mound of the thumb, halfway along the thumb's hand bone, where the palm skin meets the back-of-hand skin
LU11	少商 Shǎoshāng Lesser Shang	At the corner of the thumbnail on the outer side, a little away from the nail