There are over 300 acupuncture points on the body, so how do we locate them all? Acupuncture point location is based on a unit of measurement called a cun (pronounced tsoon), or body inch. As everyone’s body is different, cun measurements are proportional to each person and are not fixed amounts. The width of every person’s thumb, regardless of actual size, is one cun; the width of the other four fingers as a group is approximately three cun.  Each limb and area of the body has a specific cun measurement, and these are memorized by your acupuncturist while they are in school.

For example, the length from the outer crease of the elbow to the area where the wrist meets the thumb is 12 cun. The cun on the arm of a baby will be much smaller than that of a grown man, but both arms are 12 cun. Acupuncture point locations are all described using a combination of these measurements, other acupuncture points, and anatomical features. Here are two examples: 

• The point “Spleen 6” is located three cun above the inner ankle bone, just behind the tibia

• “Lung 6” is located on the forearm, on the line joining 

• “Lung 9” and “Lung 5,” seven cun above the wrist crease

But still, this is just a guideline. Skilled acupuncturists can also feel the qi at a point - scientists believe this might be due to the change of electrical conductivity at acupuncture points. With a lot of practice, that change that is imperceptible to most becomes fairly obvious to your acupuncturists fingertips! Learning to memorize, measure, and locate points is an essential part of acupuncture training, and proper point location requires knowledge of the body measurements, palpation skills, and a good heap of judgment.