Meridians: The chain

The chain has a logic, it is not a list

Channels hand over at the hands and the feet, alternating yin and yang. If you know where one ends, you know where the next begins without memorising the order.

Arm yin channel

ends at the hand

Arm yang channel

rises to the face

Leg yang channel

descends to the foot

Common mistake: Reciting all twelve without knowing why that order.

Order the handover starting from Lung.

1. Lung↑↓
2. Large Intestine↑↓
3. Stomach↑↓
4. Spleen↑↓
5. Heart↑↓

A channel is not a nerve or a vein

A channel is defined by what it connects and what it does, not by a tissue you can dissect. It has a surface pathway, an internal branch reaching its organ, and a time slot. Those three are what get used in clinic.

External pathway

where you needle and where it hurts

Internal branch

links to its organ and its pair

Time slot

when it is at its peak

Common mistake: Hunting for the exact anatomical equivalent before using the map. The map works through what it relates.

Where does an arm yin channel hand over to the next yang channel?

1. At the chest
2. At the hand
3. At the face

Sort each channel by its polarity.

• LungYin channelYang channel
• Large IntestineYin channelYang channel
• KidneyYin channelYang channel
• BladderYin channelYang channel
• LiverYin channelYang channel
• GallbladderYin channelYang channel

Order the handover starting from Heart.

1. Heart↑↓
2. Small Intestine↑↓
3. Bladder↑↓
4. Kidney↑↓
5. Pericardium↑↓

Which way does a leg yin channel run?

1. From the foot up toward the trunk
2. From the trunk down to the foot
3. Both directions at once

Match each channel with the digit where it ends or begins.

What is the use of knowing Lung and Large Intestine are an interior-exterior pair?

1. Classification only: no clinical use
2. To know which comes first on the clock
3. To treat one channel through the other when its own is unreachable or irritated

Match each channel with its interior-exterior pair.

Classify each channel by limb and polarity.

• PericardiumArm yinArm yangLeg yangLeg yin
• San JiaoArm yinArm yangLeg yangLeg yin
• StomachArm yinArm yangLeg yangLeg yin
• SpleenArm yinArm yangLeg yangLeg yin
• LungArm yinArm yangLeg yangLeg yin
• GallbladderArm yinArm yangLeg yangLeg yin

Describe the channel running from the chest down to the thumb along the inner side.

If the circuit of twelve is continuous, what does a blockage in a single channel imply?

1. Nothing: each channel works on its own
2. The next channel receives less and the previous one builds up
3. The whole circuit stops

Why is it worth knowing the order of the chain and not just the twelve names?

1. Because exams ask for it
2. Because the order decides the names of the points
3. Because the previous and next channels are the first two options when the affected one does not respond

How long does qi take to travel the full circuit of the twelve channels?

1. Twenty-four hours: two per channel
2. Twelve hours: one per channel
3. There is no defined time