Acupuncture Points

Traditionally the acupuncture points were 365 in number pertaining to the number of days in a year. These points were on fourteen meridian lines, one meridian for each of the twelve organs of the body. One meridian was along the spinal cord which was the governing meridian and one more on the midline of the abdomen called the conception vessel.

Of late, the number of points identified and used have increased manifold. There are innumerable meridians with accupoints apart from the traditional points. There are even some special points which are not on any of the meridians.

Other newly identified points include the ones along the outer ears, points on the scalp, on the feet, wrists, ankles, hands and the nose. In spite of these innumerable points being identified, acupuncturists still prefer to use the traditional accupoints situated on the fourteen main meridians.

There are certain points on each meridian which are used more by acupuncturists as these points are more versatile and can be used for treating a variety of patients and diseases.

Given below is a list of the names of some of the meridians, the points which are standard on that meridian, classification by numbers and the Chinese name of the point.