DU11 (Shendao, “Shendao”) is an acupuncture point on the Governing Vessel Meridian. It is located on the posterior midline, in the depression below the spinous process of the fifth thoracic vertebra (T5). It calms the spirit (Shen), clears heat, pacifies wind, and unbinds the chest.
On the posterior midline, in the depression below the spinous process of the fifth thoracic vertebra (T5).
Slightly superior oblique insertion, 0.5 to 1.0 cun. Deep insertion towards the spinal canal is strictly forbidden.
Calms the spirit (Shen), clears heat, pacifies wind, and unbinds the chest.
Body heat with headache that comes and goes, shoulder and back pain, infantile wind epilepsy and convulsions, fright palpitations, forgetfulness, sorrow and melancholy, trance-like states, malaria, fullness in the chest, upper-qi (shortness of breath/cough), spinal rigidity, inability to turn the head, cardiac pain, chills and fever.
Shendao is a crucial point for calming the spirit, located directly posterior to the Heart. Its indications for fright palpitations, forgetfulness, sorrow, and epilepsy highlight its role in treating shen disturbances rooted in the Heart. It is also effective for clearing heat, as shown by its use for fevers and headaches, and for relieving local tension, such as chest fullness and back pain.
Classical text; the translation was prepared with AI and is not clinical advice.
《針方六集》 Zhēnfāng Liùjí — Six Collections on Needling, Wu Kun, 1618 · 卷之五·紛署集 · 背自第一椎循督脈行至脊骶凡十三穴第七 · Source: jicheng.tw ↗
神道一穴，主傷寒發熱，頭痛，往來痎瘧，恍惚悲愁，健忘驚悸，小兒風癇背反The text records that DU11 was used for cold damage with fever, headache, intermittent malaria, absent-mindedness with sorrow and worry, forgetfulness with fright palpitations, and wind epilepsy with arched back in children.
《針灸甲乙經》 Zhēnjiǔ Jiǎyǐ Jīng — Systematic Classic of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, c. 256–282 · 卷03 · Source: Wikisource ↗
神道，在第五椎節下間，督脈氣所發，俯而取之，刺入五分，留五呼，灸三壯According to this text, DU11 lies between the 5th vertebral segments, where the qi of the governor vessel emerges, located bending forward; needling is 0.5 cun retained for five breaths, with 3 moxa cones.
DU11 is one of 28 points on the Governing Vessel Meridian. Nearby points:
DU11 (Shendao) is located on the posterior midline, in the depression below the spinous process of the fifth thoracic vertebra (T5).
DU11 calms the spirit (Shen), clears heat, pacifies wind, and unbinds the chest. Common clinical indications include body heat with headache that comes and goes, shoulder and back pain, infantile wind epilepsy and convulsions, fright palpitations, forgetfulness, sorrow and melancholy, trance-like states, malaria, fullness in the chest, upper-qi (shortness of breath/cough), spinal rigidity, inability to turn the head, cardiac pain, chills and fever.
Slightly superior oblique insertion, 0.5 to 1.0 cun. Deep insertion towards the spinal canal is strictly forbidden. Caution: Several classical sources, including the Zhen Jiu Ju Ying and Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, state that this point is forbidden to needle. The spinal canal is located deep to this point, so deep or perpendicular needling is contraindicated.
DU11 is a point on the Governing Vessel Meridian (Dū Mài).