Baohuang BL-53
Chinese: 胞肓
Pinyin: Bāo Huāng
Location
At the level of the 2nd posterior sacral foramen, 3 cun lateral to the posterior midline.
How to locate
First identify the Tuffier's line which connects the highest points of the iliac crest. The spinous process of the 4th lumber vertebra (L4) mostly falls on this line.
Then palpate in an inferior direction, passing L5, and reach the most superior 1st sacral foramen. Palpate further to the 2nd sacral foramen.
Baohuang BL-53 is at the level of the 2nd sacral foramen and 3 cun lateral to the posterior midline.
Points located between Fufen BL-41 and Zhibian BL-54 are in the lateral branch of the Bladder Channel, while these between Fengmen BL-12 and Baihuanshu BL-30 are in the medial branch.
Main actions
- Regulates Qi in the Lower Burner
- Benefits urination
Needling
Vertically or obliquely 1–1.5 cun.
Commentary for Baohuang BL-53
The actions of Baohuang BL-53 are quite similar to Huangmen BL-51, which is at the same level as Sanjiaoshu BL-22. The latter is the Back-Transporting-Shu point of the Triple Burner. Therefore, they share similar attributions.
One of the most important one is to regulate the Triple Burner and spread the Original Qi to the body. While BL-51 is more focus on the Upper Burner while BL-53 is more on the Lower Burner.
Furthermore, BL-53 promotes the transformation and excretion of the dirty Body Fluids in the Lower Burner. Thus it treats urinary issues such as retention of urine, difficult or burning urination.