ST-15 - Roof
屋翳 - Wū yì
Point Region: Chest
Location & How to Find
Anatomical Location: On the front of the chest, in the second space between the ribs, 4 cun out from the midline. The second rib is level with the sternal angle; the space is just below it.
Distances are in cun, a unit that scales with each person's body. As a guide, the width of your thumb at its joint is 1 cun, and your four fingers held together, measured across the middle joints, are 3 cun.
How to Locate:
- Find the second rib: it joins the breastbone at the small ridge across it below the collarbones (the sternal angle). The second rib space is just below that rib
- Follow the space out to the line straight up from your nipple
- The point is there
How to Apply Pressure
After finding ST-15, touch the second rib space lightly and never press inward toward the chest. Skip it after chest surgery or an intercostal injury, and see a doctor for chest pain or blood in your sputum.
Traditional Indications
In TCM, this point is traditionally used for:
- Cough with reflux
- Foamy sputum
- Coughing blood
- Intercostal pain
- Rib pain
- Respiratory problems
- Chest tightness
Related Health Concerns
Related Acupoints
Select a point to see its location, how to find it, and its traditional uses.
Important Precautions
Avoid this point with:
- Recent chest surgery
- Severe intercostal neuralgia
- Chest wall injuries