What Fenglong does
Fenglong is treated here as a practical point rather than a curiosity: where it sits, how it is needled, what the tradition says it does, and the skin conditions in this database that name it.
Actions
- Resolves Dampness and Phlegm
- Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices
- Subdues Rebellious Qi
Location
The written location is summarised from the classical record; use the landmark named there together with the diagram.
How to find it
Find the bony landmark first, then feel for the hollow or tender spot the location describes. The point is usually sensitive when pressed. Find Dubi ST-35 in the hollow below the kneecap and just outside the patellar ligament, then find Jiexi ST-41 level with the tip of the outer ankle bone, between the tendons that cross there. Draw a line between the two points and take the midpoint, then move about two finger widths outward from the sharp front edge of the shin. Fenglong sits at the same height as Tiaokou ST-38 but one finger width farther out, and it is often tender when phlegm is said to be present.
Deqi
De qi at this point is felt as local distension, heaviness or aching, and may travel a short way along the channel.
A cun is a proportional body measurement, not a fixed length: one cun is about the width of the thumb at the knuckle, 1.5 cun about two finger widths, and 3 cun about the width of four fingers. On an average adult one cun is roughly one inch, but it scales with the person, which is why the texts measure in cun rather than centimetres.
Technique
Needling
Angle: 90 degrees, perpendicular Depth: Standard depth one to one and a half cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is used at this point for five to fifteen minutes where the pattern is cold and the phlegm is of the damp, white kind, as in a chronic wet cough or a heavy feeling in the limbs. It is not the first choice where heat is present, and the point is generally needled with the reducing method instead. The classical records no other technique at Fenglong.
Skin uses
- Fear Asthma Goitre Anxiety Phobias Lipomas Coughing Wheezing Fibroids Dizziness Headaches Streaking Depression Chest pain Restlessness Copious sputum Breathlessness Hallucinations Throat swelling Swelling of the face Feeling of heaviness Uncontrolled laughing Inappropriate elation Epigastrium stiffness Feeling of fullness in the chest
Point classifications
| Classification | Value |
|---|---|
| Classical groups | Luo-Connecting Point |
Classical record
The luo vessel of the foot yangming is called Fenglong. It separates eight cun above the ankle and joins the foot taiyin, ascends along the outer edge of the shin, links with the head and neck and descends to the throat. When the qi rebels there is sudden loss of voice; in excess there is madness and mania; in deficiency the foot cannot be lifted and the leg withers.
Ling Shu (Classic of the Spiritual Pivot), chapter 10, as recorded in the classical literature.
Reversal headache, swelling of the face, vexation of the heart, seeing ghosts in madness, laughing without stopping, great joy over small things, and obstruction of the throat with inability to speak: these are the disorders Fenglong governs.
Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing, as recorded in the classical literature.
Fenglong governs madness, walking wildly, climbing to high places to sing, throwing off clothes and running about.
Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, as recorded in the classical literature.
Fenglong and Qiuxu treat stabbing pain in the chest.
Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, on the combination, as recorded in the classical literature.
For abundant phlegm, seek Fenglong.
Yu Long Ge (Jade Dragon Ode), as recorded in the classical literature.
Safety
Who should treat this point
Acupuncture and moxibustion are practitioner procedures. This page is educational and is not a guide to self-treatment.
Caution
No special hazard is recorded for this point; use standard care for the region and adjust depth to the patient. The record adds practical guidance on direction and method. The needle is angled slightly toward the tibia rather than away from it, but not so far that it meets the bone, because the periosteum is tender and needling it hurts. Fenglong is a luo point, so the record prefers the reducing method and states that tonification is not its usual use. A patient with obvious phlegm accumulation often has a tender point here, which is read as a confirmation of the pattern rather than a reason to needle harder.
Deficiency and constitution
In a depleted patient the point is worked gently and briefly.
Before treatment
Educational reference only. Skin that is spreading, painful, blistering or accompanied by fever needs medical assessment.
Modern evidence and safety
General references for acupuncture safety and skin evidence. They are not specific to this point, and they are not a claim that needling it treats any condition.
- Acupuncture-related adverse events: systematic review and meta-analyses of prospective clinical studies. BMJ Open, 2021. PMID: 34489268.
- Acupuncture for atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 2024. PMID: 39638592.
- Manual acupuncture for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Surgery, 2025. PMID: 40696933.
- Acupuncture in Dermatology: An Update to a Systematic Review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2021. PMID: 32955916.
Evidence note
No controlled trial of this treatment in skin conditions was identified for this entry. What is described here rests on the classical and later materia medica record and on traditional clinical use, not on controlled trial evidence, and it is not a prediction of benefit. Where skin-specific research does exist it is linked above.
Common questions
What does Fenglong do in skin practice?
It is used where the skin picture includes fear asthma goitre anxiety phobias lipomas coughing wheezing fibroids dizziness headaches streaking depression chest pain restlessness copious sputum breathlessness hallucinations throat swelling swelling of the face feeling of heaviness uncontrolled laughing inappropriate elation epigastrium stiffness feeling of fullness in the chest, always as part of a combination chosen for the pattern.
How is it needled?
90° (Perpendicular). Standard depth 1.0 - 1.5 cun. De qi: Distention and soreness radiating upward toward the thigh and downward to the lateral malleolus. Some patients experience a heavy, dull ache at the point with sensations traveling along the Stomach channel pathway.
Is it safe?
Needle insertion should be directed slightly toward the tibia. As a Luo-connecting point, ST-40 is primarily indicated for excess conditions and phlegm disorders - it is generally better to use reducing technique rather than tonification. Care should be taken not to needle too medially to avoid the tibial periosteum. The point may be tender in patients with significant phlegm accumulation.
Why does a point on the leg treat phlegm?
Because phlegm is not made in the chest. In this system it forms when the spleen and stomach fail to move fluids, and it then travels wherever the qi takes it, which may be the lungs, the head, the skin or the womb. Fenglong is the luo point of the stomach channel and connects that channel with the spleen, so it acts where the fluid is mishandled rather than where the phlegm finally shows itself.
How do I find Fenglong?
Mark the midpoint between Dubi ST-35 below the kneecap and Jiexi ST-41 at the level of the outer ankle bone, then move two finger widths outward from the front edge of the shin. The point lies in the muscle there, at the same height as Tiaokou ST-38 and one finger width further out. Pressing firmly usually produces a distinct ache, and the area is often tender when phlegm is part of the picture.
Is Fenglong reduced or tonified?
The record advises the reducing method in most cases, because phlegm is an excess and this is a luo point, which the tradition uses for excess conditions. A depleted patient still receives it, but gently and for a shorter time, since clearing can cost strength. Needling is directed slightly toward the tibia and kept off the bone itself, because the periosteum is painful to touch with a needle.