A New Look at Entry-Exit Point Theory and Practice

Many practitioners of acupuncture are unfamiliar with the idea of entry-exit point theory and practice. It is more commonly taught in Western acupuncture schools than in China and usually as part of the five-element style popularised by JR Worsley. The history of entry-exit points and their connection to the classics of Chinese medicine are rarely discussed. The purpose of this article is several-fold: first to describe the clinical methodology of the use of entryexit points, second to answer the question of where they originated, and third to find concepts in the Neijing (Inner Classic) that help practitioners to understand and apply entry-exit theory as accurately as possible. The author has been studying this topic for over 50 years, and in this article introduces new interpretations of the subject, such as the difference between entryexit blocks affecting meridians of the same element versus entry-exit blocks between meridians of different elements. Also documented is the difference between the Neijing pulse qualities zao and jing, which can help to distinguish between these two types of block.