DU14 (Dazhui, “Dazhui”) is the Meeting of the Du Mai with the six yang channels point of the Governing Vessel Meridian. It is located on the posterior midline, in the depression below the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra (C7). This is the most prominent vertebra at the base of the neck when the head is flexed forward. It releases the exterior and dispels pathogenic factors, clears heat and calms internal wind, tonifies Yang and strengthens the body, treats malarial disorders, resolves phlegm and dissipates nodules.
On the posterior midline, in the depression below the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra (C7). This is the most prominent vertebra at the base of the neck when the head is flexed forward.
Insert perpendicularly with a slight superior inclination, 0.5 to 1.0 cun in depth. Deep insertion towards the spinal canal is contraindicated.
Releases the exterior and dispels pathogenic factors, clears heat and calms internal wind, tonifies Yang and strengthens the body, treats malarial disorders, resolves phlegm and dissipates nodules.
Malignant goiter qi, back sores, initial stage of cold damage (shang han), epidemic heat toxin, neck stiffness and pain, dizziness, a sensation of fullness or hardness below the heart, fever, aversion to cold, lack of sweating, convulsions, opisthotonos, shivering, malarial disorders with alternating fever and chills, vexation and fullness, cough, shortness of breath, heat in the bones, dry front teeth, wind-labor, consumption from food, tidal fever, epilepsy, mania, aversion to people and fire, mental confusion and unhappiness, headache, heaviness of the head, dim vision, thoracic oppression, restlessness, inability to stand for long, body feeling unsettled on a mat.
As the meeting point of all yang channels, Dazhui is the primary point for clearing heat and releasing the exterior, making it essential for treating febrile diseases, influenza, and the common cold, especially with symptoms of high fever, aversion to cold, and neck stiffness. Its ability to clear heat from the entire body also makes it effective for various skin conditions like boils, carbuncles, and urticaria. Moxibustion on Dazhui is a classical method for tonifying yang qi, fortifying defensive qi, and preventing illness.
Classical text; the translation was prepared with AI and is not clinical advice.
《備急千金要方》 Bèijí Qiānjīn Yàofāng — Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies, c. 650 · 第五上 · Source: Wikisource ↗
若脊強反張、灸大椎，並灸諸臟俞及督脊上當中The text records that for a stiff, arched-back spine, moxa was applied at DU14, together with the back transport points of the organs and the midline of the spine.
《傷寒論》 Shānghán Lùn — Treatise on Cold Damage, c. 200 CE · bian-tai-yang-mai-zheng-bing · Source: Wikisource ↗
太陽與少陽併病，頭項強痛，或眩冒，時如結胸，心下痞硬者，當刺大椎第一間The text records that in combined taiyang and shaoyang disease, with stiff painful head and nape, or dizziness, at times like chest binding, with hard focal distension below the heart, one should needle at DU14 at the first intervertebral space.
《類經圖翼》 Lèijīng Túyì — Illustrated Wings to the Classified Canon, Zhang Jiebin, 1624 · 卷八 · 經絡（六） · 督脈穴 · Source: jicheng.tw ↗
又云：諸煩熱時氣溫病，灸大椎百壯，刺三分瀉之The text records that for all kinds of vexing heat and seasonal warm diseases, 100 moxa cones were applied at DU14, and it was needled 0.3 cun with draining.
DU14 is one of 28 points on the Governing Vessel Meridian. Nearby points:
DU14 (Dazhui) is located on the posterior midline, in the depression below the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra (C7). This is the most prominent vertebra at the base of the neck when the head is flexed forward.
DU14 releases the exterior and dispels pathogenic factors, clears heat and calms internal wind, tonifies Yang and strengthens the body, treats malarial disorders, resolves phlegm and dissipates nodules. Common clinical indications include malignant goiter qi, back sores, initial stage of cold damage (shang han), epidemic heat toxin, neck stiffness and pain, dizziness, a sensation of fullness or hardness below the heart, fever, aversion to cold, lack of sweating, convulsions, opisthotonos, shivering, malarial disorders with alternating fever and chills, vexation and fullness, cough, shortness of breath, heat in the bones, dry front teeth, wind-labor, consumption from food, tidal fever, epilepsy, mania, aversion to people and fire, mental confusion and unhappiness, headache, heaviness of the head, dim vision, thoracic oppression, restlessness, inability to stand for long, body feeling unsettled on a mat.
Insert perpendicularly with a slight superior inclination, 0.5 to 1.0 cun in depth. Deep insertion towards the spinal canal is contraindicated. Caution: The Wai Tai Mi Yao notes a caution against excessive moxibustion for hemiplegia, as it may cause the arms to become thin, though this concern is waived for wind diseases. Deep needling is prohibited to avoid injuring the spinal cord.
DU14 is a point on the Governing Vessel Meridian (Dū Mài).