Waiguan (TE5)
Waiguan (TE5), “Outer Gate”, is a point on the San Jiao (Triple Burner) meridian. It is point 5 of the 23 on the channel. Releases the exterior, expels Wind-Heat, benefits the ears, activates the Yang Wei Mai meridian.
Location
2 cun proximal to the dorsal wrist crease, between the ulna and radius.
Functions according to tradition
Releases the exterior, expels Wind-Heat, benefits the ears, activates the Yang Wei Mai meridian.
Traditional indications
- Cold with fever
- Lateral pain
- Tinnitus
- Migraine
- Wrist and elbow arthritis
- Ear pain
Indications described by tradition; they do not amount to proven clinical effectiveness for each one.
What its classification means
From here the collateral that links the channel to its interior-exterior partner departs, which is why it is credited with acting on both channels at once.
At this point the channel crosses the Yang Linking Vessel (Yang Wei Mai, 阳维脉), one of the eight extraordinary vessels.
Precautions
No specific contraindications. Needle between the radius and ulna.
Points on other channels with similar indications
They share several traditional indications with this point. Comparing them helps understand why one or the other is chosen.
- GB3 Shangguan (Gallbladder): Migraine, Tinnitus
- GB41 Zulinqi (Gallbladder): Lateral pain, Migraine
- GB43 Xiaxi (Gallbladder): Migraine, Tinnitus
- SI19 Tinggong (Small Intestine): Ear pain, Tinnitus
- GB4 Hanyan (Gallbladder): Migraine, Tinnitus
- GB6 Xuanli (Gallbladder): Migraine, Tinnitus
Point profile
- Code
- TE5
- Pinyin name
- Wài Guān
- Characters
- 外关
- Translation
- Outer Gate
- Meridian
- San Jiao (Triple Burner)
- Element
- Fire
- Classification
- Luo-Connecting, Yang Wei Mai
- Topics
- Immunity, Lateral Pain, Ear
Health notice. Educational and study content. It describes concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine and does not replace diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional. Needling, medicinal herbs and invasive techniques must be applied by trained professionals. Safety guide.
