Meridians and collaterals
Lecturer: QU Hongyan
Contents
A General Introduction to the Meridians and Collaterals
A general introduction to the twelve regular
meridians
Basic functions, circulation routes and function features
of eight extra meridians
Meridians and collaterals
Meridians and collaterals or “Jing
Luo” in Chinese, are pathways that
transport qi and blood, and connect the
internal zang-fu organs with the
surface and other part of the body.
trunk
Jing, meridians,
means “go
through” or “a
path”. They are
strong and
large. They run
longitudinally and
interiorly within
the body.
branches
Luo, that is
collaterals, means
“something that
connects” or “a
net”. They are the
branches of the
meridians, thin and
small. They run
transversely and
superficially, and
crisscross and net
the whole body.
Twelve regular
meridians
Meridians
Meridian
Eight extra
meridians
system
Twelve divergent
meridians
Collaterals
Fifteen connecting collaterals
Superficial collaterals
Tertiary collaterals
Physiological functions of
meridians
Communicating the exterior with the interior, connecting
with viscera
Circulating qi and blood and coordinating yin and yang
Resisting evil qi and manifesting symptoms and signs of
diseases
Transmitting sensation and regulating the deficiency and
excess
Twelve regular meridians
The nomenclature of the twelve regular
meridians is based on three factors, which are hand
or foot, yin or yang, and zang or fu organs.
e.g. Lung meridian of hand-taiyin
Large intestine meridian of hand-yangming
Gallbladder meridian of foot-shaoyang
Flowing orders of Twelve Regular Meridians
Three yin meridians of hand
Chest or
Abdomen
Lung meridian of hand taiyin
Pericardium meridian of hand jueyi
Heart meridian of hand shaoyin
Three yin meridians of foot
Spleen meridian of foot taiyin
Liver meridian of foot jueyi
Kidney meridian of foot shaoyin
Hand
Three yang meridians of hand
Larege intestine meridian of hand yangming
Sanjiao meridian of hand shaoyang
Small intestine meridian of hand taiyang
Foot
Head
Three yang meridians of foot
Stomach meridian of foot yangming
Gallbladder meridian of foot shaoyang
Bladder meridian of foot taiyang
Head
three yang meridian
of hand
Chest
three yin meridian
of hand
three yang meridian
Abdomen
of foot
three yin meridian
of foot
Hand
Foot
Directions of twelve regular meridians
• Three yin meridians of hand run from chest to
hand
• Three yang meridians of hand run from hand to
head
• Three yang meridians of foot run from head to
foot
• Three yin meridians of foot run from foot to
abdomen and chest.
If we extend our arms
overhead, the yin
meridians run upward while
yang ones run downward
Distribution of the twelve regular meridians
• The Twelve Regular Meridians
have lateral and symmetrical
distribution on the head, face,
trunk and limbs.
• The six yin meridians are
distributed on the medial side
of the limbs and on the chest
and abdomen.
• The six yang meridians are
distributed on the lateral side of
the limbs and on the head, face
and trunk.
Tip of great
toe
Externa
l
canthu
s
Tip of
ring
finger
Liver
Lung
Tip of index
finger
Large
Intestine
Gallbladder
Sanjiao
Stomach
Tip of
great toe
Chest
Spleen
Pericardium
In the
chest
Kidney
Tip of small
toe
Beside
the
nose
Bladder
Inner canthus
Small
Intestine
Heart
In the
chest
Tip of small
finger
Connections
Yin meridians and yang meridians connect in
the hand or the foot.
Two yang meridians with the same name
connect in the head or facial region.
Hand yin meridians and foot yin meridians
connect in the chest.
Exterior-interior relationship
Yin meridians, which are considered relatively
inner, belong to zang organs and interact with fu
organs.
Yang meridians, which run relatively
superficially, belong to fu organs and connect to
zang organs.
i.e.
The heart meridian belongs to the
heart and connect to the small intestine
The small intestine meridian belongs
to the small intestine and interact with
the heart.
Lung meridian of hand-taiyin
Large intestine meridian of hand-yangming
Stomach meridian of foot-yangming
Spleen meridian of foot-taiyin
Heart meridian of hand-shaoyin
Small intestine meridian of hand-taiyang
Bladder meridian of foot-taiyang
Kidney meridian of foot-shaoyin
Pericardium meridian of hand-jueyin
Triple energizer meridian of hand-shaoyang
Gallbladder meridian of foot-shaoyang
Liver meridian of foot-jueyin
The Eight Extra Meridians
The Eight Extra Meridians are the
meridians whose courses are different from
the twelve regular meridians, eight in all,
namely Governor Vessel, Conception Vessel,
Thoroughfare Vessel, Belt Vessel, Yin Link
Vessel, Yang Link Vessel, Yin Heel Vessel
and Yang Heel Vessel.
Differences compared with twelve
regular meridians
 They do not belong to any zang-fu organs
directly;
 They have no exterior-interior relationship
amongst themselves
 They travel in an extraordinary way
compared to the twelve regular meridians
 Apart from GV and CV which have their own
points, the other meridians share the points with
the twelve regular meridians.
Functions of the Eight Extra Meridians
• They distributed longitudinally and horizontally among the twelve
regular meridians, working not only as strengthening the
association between the twelve regular meridians, but also as
dominating and controlling qi and blood, as well as balancing yin
and yang.
• They regulate the qi and blood of the regular meridians, such as in
storage, drainage of the qi and blood.
• If the twelve regular meridians were likened to the rivers and great
rivers, the eight extraordinary meridians would be likened to the
lakes and reserviors.
Physiological functions ：
（ 1 ） regulates qi and blood of
yang meridians and be named as
sea of yang meridians ；
（ 2 ） reflects the function of
brain, kidney and spinal cord；
（3） governs reproduction
Governor Vessel
Physiological functions:
（1）regulates qi and blood of yin
meridians and be named as sea of
yin meridians；
（ 2 ） regulates menstruation and
pregnant fetus.
Conception Vessel
 Conception Vessel
governs uterus and
gestation
Physiological functions:
（ 1 ） regulates qi and blood of
twelve regular meridians；
（2） governs reproduction；
 “the sea of twelve regular meridians”
Thoroughfare Vessels
 “the sea of five zang organs and six fu
organs”
Physiological functions:
restrains the other meridians
like a belt
Belt Vessel