Liver

LV13

章门 · Zhangmen

Completion Gate

Below the free rib tip. Influential point of the zang.

Front-mu of the Spleen · Influential point of the zang organs

Use caution

System

Channel: Liver (LV)
Element: Wood
Yin or yang: yin
Organ system: Liver
Region: Abdomen
Limb rule: Foot Jueyin

Open the Liver page

Where it is

On the side of the abdomen, just below the free end of the 11th rib. Find the rib tip and drop into the soft spot under it.

Nearby: Spleen on the left, liver on the right, and the lung is not far. Do not dig under the rib.

Traditionally said to

Front-mu of the Spleen and the influential point of the zang organs. A scholarly point more than a daily self-care point. Traditionally for abdominal distension and a tired spleen.

What people look up

Digestion Local muscle tension

Acupressure

Flat fingers below the rib tip, very mild, 20–30 seconds. Not under the rib cage.

When not to press: Skip if the side hurts when you breathe, or the abdomen is acutely painful.

About 30–90 seconds is the usual window, unless the step above is shorter. Stop if pain, dizziness, or anything unusual shows up.

Licensed practice only

Needle depth, angle, electroacupuncture

Textbook language for students. Not instructions. A cun is a body-inch on that person, not a ruler inch. Do not needle yourself.

Depth

Oblique, often 0.5–0.8 cun. Organs lie deep and the spleen or liver can be enlarged in illness. Advanced point. Confirm in a manual.

Angle

Oblique, along the abdominal wall, not straight into the rib or organ.

Electroacupuncture

Introductory charts rarely assign a standard electroacupuncture setting here. Clinics that use current choose frequency and intensity for that person. No milliamp figure is given, because copying one would be misleading.