DU-19 (Hou Ding) Behind the Vertex

What does DU-19 Hou Ding do?

DU-19 eliminates wind and alleviates pain, and calms the spirit — a scalp point just behind the vertex of the head.

• Eliminates wind and alleviates pain — the wind action for headache and dizziness (classical “wind” disturbing the head)
• Calms the spirit — the spirit-settling action, behind its use for mania and epilepsy

One of the points around the vertex. DU-19 sits 1.5 cun behind DU-20 Bai Hui, the point at the crown of the head, on the Governing vessel’s midline course over the skull. Its name, Hou Ding (“Behind the Vertex”), places it directly — the vertex being DU-20; its partner DU-21 Qian Ding (“Before the Vertex”) sits the same distance in front. The three work together on the head and spirit.

Why a scalp point calms the spirit. The Governing vessel ascends the spine and over the head to the brain, and its upper points reach the “sea of marrow” (the brain) in classical thought — which is the account of their use for disturbances of the spirit and consciousness (mania, epilepsy) alongside plain headache. DU-20 Bai Hui is the great point of this kind; DU-19 shares the character.

On the name. “Hou Ding” means Behind the Vertex — hou behind, ding the vertex or crown. Purely positional, relative to DU-20.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action, location and translation records; the DU-18, DU-20 and DU-21 records queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is DU-19 Hou Ding used for?

DU-19 is used for headache, dizziness (vertigo), mania, and epilepsy. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Headache
• Vertigo (dizziness)
• Mania
• Epilepsy

Head and spirit, the two actions exactly. Headache and vertigo are the wind-and-pain action; mania and epilepsy are the calm-the-spirit action reaching the brain. It is a coherent head-and-spirit list, of the kind the vertex points share.

An honest and necessary note. Epilepsy requires medical diagnosis and management — it is treated with anticonvulsant medication, and a first seizure, or any change in seizures, needs assessment; acupuncture is not a substitute. An acute manic state is a matter for psychiatric care. New, severe, or changed headache — especially with fever, neck stiffness or neurological signs — requires urgent assessment, and sudden or severe vertigo warrants assessment. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With DU-20 Bai Hui and DU-21 Qian Ding around the vertex for the head, and with DU-16 Feng Fu and DU-26 Ren Zhong for the spirit indications. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the DU-16, DU-20, DU-21 and DU-26 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is DU-19 Hou Ding located?

DU-19 is on the midline of the top of the head, one and a half cun behind the crown point DU-20.

• On the midline of the head, on the Governing vessel
• 1.5 cun behind (posterior to) DU-20 Bai Hui, the point at the crown
• equivalently, 5.5 cun above the posterior hairline, 1.5 cun above DU-18

Measured from the crown. The reliable route is to fix DU-20 Bai Hui first — on the midline, level with the tops of the ears at the crown — then move 1.5 cun back along the midline to DU-19. The posterior-hairline measurement gives an alternative for anyone whose crown is hard to judge.

On the name. “Hou Ding” — Behind the Vertex, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the DU-18 and DU-20 records queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 551): At the back of the head on the midline, 1.5 cun directly superior to Qiangjian DU-18 and 1.5 cun posterior to Baihui DU-20.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 233): 5.5 cun directly above the midpoint of the posterior hairline, 1.5 cun directly above Qiangjian (DU-18).

How is DU-19 Hou Ding needled?

Our own record states subcutaneous insertion of 0.3–0.5 inch, with moxibustion applicable — the flat technique the scalp requires. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents. It is not instruction, and this page does not teach technique.

• Angle and depth as recorded: subcutaneous, 0.3–0.5 inch — threaded flat under the scalp along the skull, the bone being immediately deep.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable, though moxa on the haired scalp is used with care.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies in the scalp over the skull near the midline; branches of the occipital vessels and nerves run in the scalp; the superior sagittal sinus lies in the midline within the skull, well protected by bone at the recorded subcutaneous depth.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point: the skull is immediately beneath, so there is no route into the head at a subcutaneous depth. The scalp is vascular, so bleeding and bruising are common even when harmless. Our record carries no arterial caution at DU-19, and it is not among the nine points that do.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at DU-19 could be located, and none is needed at a subcutaneous depth over bone. No case report naming DU-19 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged; the nine arterial cautions queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on DU-19, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates DU-19. Where the point appears it is one component of a headache or scalp protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. DU-19 Hou Ding (“Behind the Vertex”) is a Governing-vessel scalp point 1.5 cun behind the crown point DU-20. It eliminates wind, alleviates pain and calms the spirit — its indications spanning headache and vertigo on one side and mania and epilepsy on the other, the head-and-spirit character of the vertex points. It is needled subcutaneously over the skull.

A safety note. Epilepsy and mania are matters for medical and psychiatric care; this page records classical use and says so.

A note on searching for it. “DU 19”, “GV 19” and “Houding” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — this vessel is coded DU, GV (Governing Vessel) and VG across the literature. 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 DU-20 and DU-21 records queried, against our own data).