bubble_chart Etymology

"Zan" (攢) means to gather or cluster; "zhu" (竹) refers to bamboo, describing the appearance of the eyebrows. The point is located at the medial end of eyebrow, where eyebrows gather when frowning, resembling a cluster of fine bamboo, hence the name. Alternative Names:

• "Meiben" (眉本, eyebrow root), mentioned in Suwen-Qixue Lun.
• "Meitou" (眉頭, eyebrow head), mentioned in Suwen-Gukong Lun.
• "Yuanzhu" (員柱, round pillar), mentioned in Waitai Miyao, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing mistakenly recorded it as "Yuanzai" (員在).

Which are all related to the eyebrows and their location. Also known as "Shiguang" (始光, initial light), "Yeguang" (夜光, night light), and "Mingguang" (明光, bright light), recorded in Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing and Tongren Shuxue Zhenjiu Tujing, the later mistakenly reversed "Mingguang" (明光) as "Guangming" (光明). These names reflect the point's function in improving vision.

bubble_chart Location

On face, in the depression at the medial end of eyebrow, at supraorbital notch.

• Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing: "In the depression at the medial end of eyebrow";
• Xunjing Kaoxue Bian: "Directly above inner canthus, in the depression at the medial end of eyebrow" ;
• Donggong Anmo Mijue: "In the depression at the sharp angle of the medial end of eyebrow".

bubble_chart Anatomy

• Muscles: frontalis, corrugator supercilii.
• Nerve: medial branch of frontal nerve of trigeminal nerve.
• Vessels: frontal artery and vein.

bubble_chart Manipulation

Transverse insertion of 0.5 to 1 cun toward the middle of eyebrow or in the direction of Jingming (BL1); or pricking to bleed; or tapping with a dermal needle. Moxibustion is prohibited.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Dispel wind, discharge heat, improve vision.

• Classical: head wind, headache, supraorbital ridge pain, sweating with chills and fever, aversion to wind and cold, wind-induced dizziness, red face cheek cheek pain, twitching eyelid, eye nebula, red and swollen eyes, pterygium, tears upon wind, constant tearing due to heat, blurred vision, myopia, protruding eye, allergic rhinitis and epistaxis, irritability, inability to lie down, manic and depressive psychosis, infantile convulsions, spasm and convulsion, stiff neck, hemorrhoids.
• Modern: forehead pain, tension-type headache, conjunctivitis, keratitis, dacryocystitis, myopia, optic neuritis, optic atrophy, facial palsy, vitreous opacity, photomyopia, eyelid ptosis, stye, insomnia, nasal congestion, postoperative pain in the anal region.

bubble_chart Combinations

• Wind-type headache: Zanzhu (BL2), Chengguang (BL6), Shenshu (BL23), Sizhukong ( TE23), and Liao.
• Red face with pain in cheek: Zanzhu (BL2), Yinjiao (GV28), Yuzhen (BL9).
• Pain in eyebrow and eye: Zanzhu (BL2), Touwei (ST8).
• Blurred vision: Zanzhu (BL2), Sanjian (LI3).
• Red eye nebula: Zanzhu (BL2), Houxi (SI3), Yemen (TE2).
• Trigeminal neuralgia (first branch): Zanzhu (BL2), Qucha (BL4), Yangbai (GB14), Yifeng (TE17), Xiaguan (ST7), Sizhukong (TE23).
• Photophobia: Zanzhu (BL2), Jingming (BL1), Taiyang (EX-HN5), Hegu (LI4) , Erjian (LI2), Guangming (GB37), Taixi (KI3).
• Forehead pain: Zanzhu (BL2) through Yuyao (EX-HN4), Fengchi (GB20), Hegu ( LI4 ).

bubble_chart Notes

According to Wang Bing's note, the "brow" and "meiben" mentioned by Suwen are "Zanzhu (BL2)".