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POINT: ST-18 (STOMACH-18)  

NAME: RUGEN

English: Root of the Breast
Also Known As: Breast Root

LOCATION:

  • On the chest, directly below the nipple, on the lower border of the breast in the fifth intercostal space, four cun lateral to the anterior midline (REN Channel).
    First find the second intercostal space, the find the fifth intercostal space, three spaces below it.
    In males, the nipple lies in the fourth intercostal space.
    On a woman, this point lies on the root of the breast, inferior to the breast tissue itself; in females, the nipple the nipple is unlikely to lie four cun lateral to the midline and should not be used as a reference point.

NEEDLING:

  • Oblique insertion 0.3 to 0.5 cun.
  • Transverse insertion 0.5 to 1 cun
  • Moxibustion is applicable
  • Transverse-oblique insertion laterally or medially 0.5 to 1 cun, or transverse insertion superiorly or inferiorly along the channel.
    Deep or perpendicular insertion carries a substantial risk of puncturing the Lung.

COMMAND FUNCTIONS:

ACTIONS:

  • Benefits the breasts
  • Reduces swelling
  • Diffuses Lung Qi
  • Regulates Stomach Qi
  • Expands and relaxes the chest
  • Alleviates cough and wheezing
  • Expedites and facilitates lactation
  • Dispels stagnation

INDICATIONS:

  • Chest and hypochondriac fullness and pain
  • Cough
  • Asthma
  • Mastitis
  • Insufficient lactation
  • Dyspnea
  • Oppression of the diaphragm
  • Sudden turmoil disorder with cramps
  • Swelling and pain of the arm
  • Stifling sensation in the chest
  • Bronchitis
  • Breast abscess
  • Breast pain
  • Difficult labor
  • Oppression and pain below the chest
  • Esophageal constriction with difficult ingestion
  • Inversion counter flow of the four limbs

COMBINATIONS:

KI-27
Shufu

ST-16
Yingchuang
ST-39
Xiajuxu
LIV-3
Taichong
KI-7
Fuliu

Coughing and wheezing with Phlegm

Breast abscess

 

CONTRAINDICATIONS:

NOTES:

  • This point is mostly used as a local point for breast problems, especially in women.