Large Intestine LI
手阳明大肠经
Shou Yangming Dachang Jing
From the index finger it climbs the arm to the shoulder, crosses the neck, and ends beside the nose. A branch is drawn linking it with the Lung channel.
Yang metal channel. Some schools write the same points without changing the numbers.
- Face, nose, and teeth in channel teaching
- Letting go, paired with Lung
- Surface heat and pain along the arm
- The bowel as a yang partner, not a lab test
- Organ system
- Large Intestine
- Teaching clock
- 5–7 a.m.
Paired with Lung.
Points in this atlas
8 of 20 classical numbers. Add the missing ones in order beside their neighbors.
Shang Yang
Index fingertip, the start of the Large Intestine channel.
Use caution
Union Valley
The classic hand point for head, face, and the start of a cold.
Traditionally avoided in pregnancy
Yang Stream
Snuffbox wrist point for local wrist pain.
Use caution
Arm Three Miles
Forearm muscle point for arm fatigue and elbow tension.
Pool at the Crook
Outer elbow point taught for heat, skin patterns, and local pain.
Upper Arm
Upper-arm point for shoulder reach and local ache.
Shoulder Bone
Front shoulder hollow for stiff reach.
Welcome Fragrance
Beside the nostril, the point people find for a stuffy nose.
Use caution
Herbs that enter Large Intestine
Magnolia bark
Moves qi and dries damp in a stuck, full abdomen.
Coptis rhizome
Very bitter, very cold. Clears heat in the heart and stomach in textbooks.
Scutellaria root
Clears heat and dries damp, especially in the upper burner and the gut.
Honeysuckle flower
A sweet cold flower for heat in the upper body.
Aucklandia root
Aromatic, moves qi, and is aimed at intestinal pain and tenesmus in texts.
Cimicifuga rhizome
Raises yang and vents a heat rash in textbook language.
Peach kernel
Breaks blood stasis and also moistens the intestines in textbooks.