Meridians: Pathway and symptom

The pathway explains the local symptoms

The Heart channel runs along the inner arm to the little finger. That is why discomfort on that edge of the forearm reads as Heart and not Lung, which runs along the thumb side.

Ulnar edge of the forearm

Heart

Radial edge of the forearm

Lung

Where does each channel run on the arm?

• LungInner side (yin)Outer side (yang)
• HeartInner side (yin)Outer side (yang)
• Large IntestineInner side (yin)Outer side (yang)
• Small IntestineInner side (yin)Outer side (yang)
• PericardiumInner side (yin)Outer side (yang)
• San JiaoInner side (yin)Outer side (yang)

Match the complaint to the channel whose pathway it follows.

An occipital headache has lasted weeks. Where is its channel's most useful point usually found?

1. On the nape itself, over the pain
2. Below the knee, far from the pain
3. On the abdomen, over the organ

The three leg yang channels split the body between them

Front, side and back. That division is what turns «my leg hurts» or «my head hurts» into a specific channel with no further tests.

Front

Stomach

Side

Gallbladder

Back of the body

Bladder

Common mistake: Locating pain by the nearest bone instead of by which face of the limb it sits on.

Sort each headache by the channel running through that area.

• Pain across the forehead and browsStomachGallbladderBladderLiver
• Pain at one templeStomachGallbladderBladderLiver
• Pain in the nape running into the neckStomachGallbladderBladderLiver
• Pain at the top of the headStomachGallbladderBladderLiver
• Pain behind one eye toward the templeStomachGallbladderBladderLiver
• Pressure over the frontal sinusesStomachGallbladderBladderLiver

Pain running down the lateral thigh and leg to the outer ankle. Which channel do you work?

1. Bladder, since all sciatica is its business
2. Gallbladder, which runs along that face
3. Stomach, because it goes down the leg

Match each area of the leg with its channel.

Sort each shoulder pain by the channel involved.

• Hurts when raising the arm forwardLarge IntestineSan JiaoSmall Intestine
• Hurts when taking the arm out to the sideLarge IntestineSan JiaoSmall Intestine
• Hurts when reaching a hand behind the backLarge IntestineSan JiaoSmall Intestine
• Tender spot at the front of the shoulderLarge IntestineSan JiaoSmall Intestine
• Tender spot in the middle of the deltoidLarge IntestineSan JiaoSmall Intestine
• Tender spot along the posterior scapular borderLarge IntestineSan JiaoSmall Intestine

Pain along the thumb edge, no cough, no breathlessness, nothing respiratory. Is the organ affected?

1. Not necessarily: it may be the channel pathway alone
2. Yes: channel and organ are the same thing
3. You cannot tell without imaging

How does a channel reach its organ if its visible pathway runs along the arm?

1. It does not: the organ name is symbolic
2. Through its pair's channel
3. Through an internal branch that leaves the surface pathway

Temple pain running down the side of the body to the hip. Build the reading.

You palpate a very tender spot that matches no named point on the channel. What do you do with it?

1. Ignore it: if it is not on the map it does not count
2. Use it: tender points on palpation are part of the treatment
3. Treat it only if it hurts equally on both sides

Knee pain covering both the front and the side. How do you approach it?

1. Pick the more important of the two channels
2. Treat the local point and forget the channels
3. Work both channels involved, starting with the more tender area

Match each organ with the orifice where it shows.