BL-03 (Mei Chong) Eyebrow Ascension

What does BL-03 Mei Chong do?

BL-03 is the first Bladder point on the scalp proper, and its recorded actions are the ones the whole scalp run shares — it expels wind, clears the head and alleviates pain, and it benefits the eyes and nose.

• Expels wind, clears the head and alleviates pain
• Benefits the eyes and nose

Where BL-03 sits in the channel. The Bladder channel begins at BL-01 Jing Ming at the inner corner of the eye, rises to BL-02 Zan Zhu at the inner end of the eyebrow, and then climbs onto the forehead at BL-03 — which is what the name records. From here it runs back over the scalp through BL-04 to BL-09 before descending the neck.

An honest statement about this stretch of the channel, made once and referred to on each of its records. BL-03 through BL-09 are seven points in a line on the scalp, and their recorded actions and indications overlap heavily — headache, blurred vision, nasal obstruction and dizziness recur across almost all of them, and every one is recorded with the same subcutaneous 0.3–0.5 inch insertion. That is a real feature of the source material, not a defect in any single record. What distinguishes these points is position along the line, not a distinct action list, and this library says so rather than manufacturing differences.

One inconsistency worth flagging. Our records state moxibustion as applicable at BL-04, BL-05, BL-07 and BL-09, but not at BL-03, BL-06 or BL-08. Whether that reflects a genuine classical distinction or an omission in the source material cannot be determined from our data, so nothing is asserted either way — the record is reported as it stands.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action and location records; the full BL-03 to BL-09 run and the BL-01 and BL-02 records queried and compared against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is BL-03 Mei Chong used for?

BL-03 is used for headache, giddiness, nasal obstruction and epilepsy. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Headache
• Giddiness
• Nasal obstruction
• Epilepsy

Three of the four are the scalp run’s common stock. Headache, dizziness and nasal obstruction appear across most of BL-03 to BL-09. Epilepsy is the entry that narrows the list — within this run our records give it at BL-03 and at BL-05 Wu Chu only.

An honest note, and the most important line here. Epilepsy is a medical condition requiring diagnosis and prescribed management, and seizures can be life-threatening. A first seizure, or a prolonged one, is a medical emergency. This record documents a classical indication; it makes no claim that acupuncture treats epilepsy, and nothing here should displace medical care. Sudden severe headache, and new persistent dizziness, likewise warrant assessment.

Why a forehead point treats the nose. The Bladder channel starts at the inner canthus, immediately beside the nose, and its first points sit in that region — so the nasal indications on the scalp run are the channel’s own logic rather than stray entries. The same reasoning appears on our BL-66 record, where a point on the little toe carries a nosebleed indication.

How it is combined. With BL-02 Zan Zhu directly below at the eyebrow. With DU-24 Shen Ting on the midline at the same level, and DU-23 Shang Xing above it. With LI-20 Ying Xiang and Yin Tang for the nose. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication record; the BL-05, BL-66, BL-02, DU-23, DU-24, LI-20 and Yin Tang records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is BL-03 Mei Chong located?

BL-03 is on the forehead just inside the hairline, directly above BL-02 at the inner end of the eyebrow, level with DU-24 Shen Ting on the midline.

• 0.5 cun inside the anterior hairline, directly superior to BL-02 Zan Zhu
• Level with DU-24 Shen Ting, which sits on the midline at the same 0.5 cun depth inside the hairline
• BL-04 Qu Cha lies laterally at the same level, on the 1.5-cun line the rest of the run follows

The hairline problem, which affects every point in this run. All seven scalp points are measured from the anterior hairline, and a receded, high or asymmetrical hairline removes the reference. The classical solution is proportional: the distance from the anterior to the posterior hairline is taken as 12 cun and points are measured as fractions of it, with DU-24 at 0.5 cun and the posterior hairline located from the occiput. A reader comparing point locations across sources should know that a “cun inside the hairline” is a proportional measure on that scale, not a fixed distance.

On the name. “Mei Chong” means Eyebrow Ascension — mei is eyebrow, and the point ascends from the eyebrow. It is a purely positional name, and an unusually precise one: BL-02 sits at the eyebrow’s inner end and BL-03 is directly above it. The name states the relationship between two consecutive points.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the BL-02, BL-04 and DU-24 positions queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 258): Directly superior to Zanzhu BL-2, 0.5 cun within the anterior hairline, level with Shenting DU-24.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 174): Directly above Zanzhu (BL-2), 0.5 cun within the anterior hairline, between Shenting (DU-24) and Quchai (BL-4).

How is BL-03 Mei Chong needled?

The standard texts record SUBCUTANEOUS insertion — the needle laid along under the skin rather than driven in — to roughly 0.3–0.5 inch. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents, not instruction for a reader.

• Angle and depth as recorded: subcutaneous (transverse), 0.3–0.5 inch. Every point in the BL-03 to BL-09 run carries the same recorded insertion.
• Moxibustion: our record does not state it as applicable at BL-03, though it does at BL-04, BL-05, BL-07 and BL-09. Nothing is asserted beyond what the record holds.
• Regional anatomy: the frontalis muscle and the epicranial aponeurosis lie beneath thin skin; the frontal branches of the supratrochlear and supraorbital nerves and vessels run in the region; the frontal bone lies directly beneath.

Why subcutaneous, and why that is the whole safety story here. There is bone immediately under the scalp, so there is nowhere for a needle to go — the transverse angle is not a refinement, it is the only insertion the anatomy permits. This is a low-hazard point in that specific sense: no cavity, no organ, no major vessel. The scalp bleeds readily because it is richly vascular, which is a nuisance rather than a danger and is recorded here as such.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at BL-03 could be located, and none is borrowed. The paediatric chest-CT study this library uses for measured depths covers 23 points on the trunk and shoulder and does not include the scalp. No case report naming BL-03 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged, and the recorded insertions across BL-03 to BL-09 compared; the point list of PMID 26922245 / PMC4769822 confirmed not to include BL-03), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on BL-03, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates BL-03. Where the point appears it is one component of a headache or rhinitis protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

A caution specific to the scalp. “Scalp acupuncture” is a distinct modern system with its own named zones and its own literature, and it is not the same thing as the classical Bladder-channel scalp points. A reader searching for evidence about points on the head will meet scalp-acupuncture trials, and those trials are not evidence about BL-03. This library keeps the two apart.

What this page can state with confidence. BL-03 is the third point of the Bladder channel and the first on the scalp, directly above BL-02 and level with DU-24. Its recorded insertion is subcutaneous because the skull is immediately beneath. Its indications are the scalp run’s common stock plus epilepsy, which within this run appears only here and at BL-05. And the run’s heavy overlap is disclosed rather than smoothed over.

A note on searching for it. “BL 3”, “UB 3” and “Meichong” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — Meichong matches personal and place names. Our library codes this channel BL- while some sources use UB-. Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (action, indication and location records; the BL-03 to BL-09 run compared and the BL-05 epilepsy entry queried from our own data).