ACUPUNCTURE
Shao Shang: TCM Acupoint Guide
Name
Shao Shang (Shaoshang)
Location
On the radial side of the thumb, approximately 0.1 cun posterior to the corner of the nail, at the junction of the lines drawn along the radial border of the nail and the base of the nail.
Needling
- Perpendicular or oblique insertion directed proximally, 0.1 to 0.2 cun, or prick to bleed.
- Slanted insertion, 0.1 cun, pointed proximally, causing local pain.
Command Functions
- Jing-well point
- Wood point
- Sun Simiao Ghost point
Actions
- Cools the Lungs
- Eliminates Wind-Heat
- Benefits the pharynx
- Opens the Orifices
- Revives consciousness
- Clears Heat
- Benefits the throat
- Expels Interior and Exterior Wind
- Stimulates the dispersing and descending functions of Lung qi
Indications
- Psychosis
- Epilepsy
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Pharynx and larynx swollen and painful
- Pharyngitis
- Sore throat with obstruction of the throat and hypersalivation
- Tonsillitis
- Swollen patchy tonsils
- Infantile sore throat with white spots
- Throat Bi
- Parotitis, mumps
- Mental disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Spasms and pain in the fingers
- Contracture and pain of the fingers
- Pain in the fingers which cannot be extended
- Asthma
- Common cold
- Pneumonia
- Infantile indigestion
- Enteritis
- Bleeding from the mouth
- Swelling of the chin with trismus
- Cold inversion
- Heat inversion
- Febrile disease with cold shivering
- Agitation of the Heart with cough and dyspnea
- Fullness of the Heart with sweating
- Mania
- Childhood fright wind
- Vomiting
- Dryness, redness or swelling of the throat
- Seizures
- Disorientation
- Nervousness
- Hands and arms numb
- Cerebral congestion
- Syncope
- Windstroke coma
- Fainting
- Emergency care
- Windstroke
- Stroke
- Cerebral hemorrhage
- Apoplectic delirium
- Cadaveric syncope
- Epistaxis
- Fever
- Febrile disease
- Malaria
- Cervical swelling with throat Bi
- Thirst but cannot swallow
- Esophagostenosis
- Sublingual adenitis
- Sublingual sarcoma
- Infantile epilepsy
- Lips always dry
- Fullness below the Heart with abundant sweating
- Abdominal distention
- Frequent hiccup
- Tinnitus due to Deficiency of Yuan qi
- Childhood throat moth
- Lotus flower tongue
- Dry lips with a desire to drink
- Pain and contraction of the wrist
- Pain of the thumb
- Heat in the palms
- Bi pain of the upper arm
- Pain of the front of the ear
- Upper Jiao wasting and thirsting
- Heatstroke
- Hysteria
- Inflammation of the jaw
- Hiccups
- Skin dry and parched
- Meningitis
- Anorexia
Combinations
| Points | Indications |
|---|---|
| REN-22 Tiantu, LI-4 Hegu | Swollen and painful throat |
| PC-7 Daling | Coughing and dyspnea |
| LU-10 Yuji, DU-15 Yamen, LI-2 Erjian, PC-9 Zhongchong, KI-10 Yingu, KI-2 Rangu | Stiffness of the tongue |
| LIV-3 Taichong, LU-8 Jingqu | A rattling sound in the throat |
| PC-3 Quze | Blood Deficiency thirst |
| PC-8 Laogong | Vomiting |
| HT-7 Shenmen, KI-1 Yongquan, UB-15 Xinshu | Dementia |
| LI-4 Hegu | Prick Shaoshang for acute tonsillitis |
| LI-11 Quchi | Thirst from Blood Deficiency |
Contraindications
According to some sources, this point is contraindicated during pregnancy.
Notes
This point creates sweating in Heat disorders and has powerful effects in lowering fever. It is a special point for the throat. To treat mental illness or epistaxis, apply moxibustion with three to five cones. It is primarily used for Excess conditions, and is the best point for treating children over seven years old for tonsillitis and high fever, by bleeding.
Sources and further reading
We cite classical materia medica and modern reference works. This article is health education, not medical advice.
- Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Han dynasty.
- Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578.
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia, current edition — identity, quality and safety monographs.
- NCCIH and WHO reference material on traditional medicine safety.
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