ST25 (Tianshu, “Celestial Pivot”) is the Front-Mu of the Large Intestine point of the Stomach Meridian. It is located on the middle abdomen, level with the center of the umbilicus, 2 cun lateral to the anterior midline. It regulates the intestines, resolves Dampness and Damp-Heat, moves stagnant Qi and Blood in the abdomen, and treats acute gastrointestinal disorders.
On the middle abdomen, level with the center of the umbilicus, 2 cun lateral to the anterior midline.
Perpendicular insertion, 1.0 to 1.5 cun. Deep insertion should be done with caution to avoid puncturing the peritoneum or intestines.
Regulates the intestines, resolves Dampness and Damp-Heat, moves stagnant Qi and Blood in the abdomen, and treats acute gastrointestinal disorders.
Vomiting, cholera, diarrhea, dysentery with red and white discharge, watery diarrhea, undigested food in stool, abdominal distention, abdominal fullness, abdominal pain, periumbilical pain that is sharp and cutting, borborygmus, inability to eat, edema, ascending Qi rushing to the chest, inability to stand for long, chronic accumulation of cold Qi, fullness and vexation, mania with wild talk, malarial disorders with chills and fever, menstrual irregularities, uterine masses, blood stasis in the uterus, abnormal uterine bleeding (leukorrhea with red and white discharge), abdominal pain in women, abdominal hardness, abdominal enlargement, kidney coldness with accumulations and diarrhea, hernia, constipation.
As the Front-Mu point of the Large Intestine, Tianshu is a primary point for regulating intestinal function. The classics emphasize its use for a wide range of digestive disorders, from acute conditions like cholera, vomiting, and dysentery to chronic issues like abdominal distention, pain, and borborygmus. It is also a key point for gynecological issues involving abdominal pain and menstrual irregularities, reflecting its role as a 'Celestial Pivot' that governs the lower abdomen.
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 · 第三十 · Source: Wikisource ↗
胞中痛、惡血，月水不以時休止，腹脹腸鳴，氣上沖胸，刺天樞，入五分，灸三壯，去肓俞一寸半The text records that ST25 was needled 0.5 cun with 3 moxa cones, 1.5 cun from Huangshu, for pain in the uterus with bad blood, menses that do not stop at the proper time, abdominal distension with borborygmi, and qi surging up into the chest.
《千金翼方》 Qiānjīn Yìfāng — Supplement to the Thousand Gold Prescriptions, c. 682 · 卷27 · Source: Wikisource ↗
若先下痢，灸谷門，在臍旁二寸，男左女右，一名大腸募，灸二七壯，不止，更灸二七 壯The text records that for diarrhoea moxibustion was applied at Gumen (an alternative name of ST25, also called the collecting point of the large intestine), 2 cun beside the navel, left in men and right in women, with 14 cones, repeated with another 14 if it did not stop.
《針方六集》 Zhēnfāng Liùjí — Six Collections on Needling, Wu Kun, 1618 · 卷之五·紛署集 · 腹自不容以下夾幽門兩旁各一寸五分自天樞至氣衝夾足少陰各一寸五分凡二十四穴第二十一 · Source: jicheng.tw ↗
天樞二穴，主奔豚，脾泄不止，氣脹腸鳴，腹滿，赤白利，繞臍切痛，嘔吐霍亂，痎瘧寒熱，水利水脹，一切虛損The text records that ST25 was used for running-piglet qi, unceasing spleen diarrhoea, qi distension with borborygmi, abdominal fullness, red and white dysentery, cutting pain around the navel, vomiting and cholera-like disorders, jie-malaria with chills and fever, water diarrhoea and water distension, and all kinds of depletion.
《備急千金要方》 Bèijí Qiānjīn Yàofāng — Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies, c. 650 · 第十一 · Source: Wikisource ↗
久冷，及婦人症瘕，腸鳴泄利，繞臍絞痛，灸天樞百壯，三報之，萬勿針The text records that for long-standing cold, women's zheng-jia masses, borborygmi with diarrhoea and twisting pain around the navel, ST25 was given 100 moxa cones, repeated three times, and it states that it must never be needled.
ST25 is one of 45 points on the Stomach Meridian. Nearby points:
ST25 (Tianshu) is located on the middle abdomen, level with the center of the umbilicus, 2 cun lateral to the anterior midline.
ST25 regulates the intestines, resolves Dampness and Damp-Heat, moves stagnant Qi and Blood in the abdomen, and treats acute gastrointestinal disorders. Common clinical indications include vomiting, cholera, diarrhea, dysentery with red and white discharge, watery diarrhea, undigested food in stool, abdominal distention, abdominal fullness, abdominal pain, periumbilical pain that is sharp and cutting, borborygmus, inability to eat, edema, ascending Qi rushing to the chest, inability to stand for long, chronic accumulation of cold Qi, fullness and vexation, mania with wild talk, malarial disorders with chills and fever, menstrual irregularities, uterine masses, blood stasis in the uterus, abnormal uterine bleeding (leukorrhea with red and white discharge), abdominal pain in women, abdominal hardness, abdominal enlargement, kidney coldness with accumulations and diarrhea, hernia, constipation.
Perpendicular insertion, 1.0 to 1.5 cun. Deep insertion should be done with caution to avoid puncturing the peritoneum or intestines. Caution: One source (Qian Jin Yao Fang) notes that Tianshu is the 'dwelling of the Hun and Po' and should not be needled, which contradicts all other sources. This is likely a scribal error or a minority opinion.
ST25 is a point on the Stomach Meridian (Zú Yángmíng Wèijīng).