DU-28 (Yin Jiao) Gum Intersection

What does DU-28 Yin Jiao do?

DU-28 clears heat and benefits the gums, and benefits the nose and eyes — the last point of the Governing vessel, tucked inside the upper lip, where three channels meet.

• Clears heat and benefits the gums — the local action, behind its use for gum pain and swelling
• Benefits the nose and eyes — the action reaching up to the nose and eyes the Governing vessel serves

A three-channel meeting point — and the Du vessel’s end. Our record classifies DU-28 as a Meeting Point of the Governing (Du) vessel with the Conception (Ren) vessel and the Stomach channel. It is the final point of the Governing vessel, which has run from the tailbone up the spine, over the head and down the face to end here, inside the upper lip — where it is said to link with the Conception vessel (which ends nearby below the eye). The two great midline vessels meeting at the gum is the classical picture of the body’s front-and-back circuit closing.

A name collision to flag. There are two points called Yin Jiao in our data, and they are entirely different: DU-28 Yin Jiao, Gum Intersection, here inside the upper lip — and REN-07 Yin Jiao, Yin Intersection, on the lower abdomen. Same pinyin (“Yin Jiao”), different Chinese characters, opposite ends of the body. Our library documents this among the genuine point-name collisions; a reference to “Yin Jiao” must say which.

On the name. “Yin Jiao” here means Gum Intersection — yin the gum, jiao to cross or intersect — the crossing (of the Du and Ren vessels) at the gum.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, classification, action and translation records; both Yin Jiao points — DU-28 and REN-07 — and the three-channel meeting classification queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is DU-28 Yin Jiao used for?

DU-28 is used for mental disorders, pain and swelling of the gums, and runny nose. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Mental disorders
• Pain and swelling of the gums
• Rhinorrhoea (runny nose)

Gums, nose, and spirit. Gum pain-and-swelling is the local action at the point’s position on the gum; runny nose is the nose action; mental disorders are the spirit action shared with the other terminal Governing points. It is a focused list matching the point’s three-part action.

An honest note. A mental-health disorder is a matter for proper assessment and care. Gum pain and swelling, especially with a dental abscess or fever, need dental or medical care. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With DU-26 Ren Zhong and DU-27 Dui Duan around the mouth, and with LI-04 He Gu distally for the gums and face. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the DU-26, DU-27 and LI-04 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is DU-28 Yin Jiao located?

DU-28 is inside the upper lip, where the gum meets the little fold of skin (frenulum) joining the lip to the gum.

• At the junction of the gum and the frenulum of the upper lip — the frenulum being the thin fold you feel with your tongue when you run it up behind the centre of the upper lip
• Inside the mouth, in the midline, at the top of the upper gum
• The most distal (final) point of the Governing vessel

An inside-the-mouth point. DU-28 is one of the few points located inside the mouth: lifting the upper lip reveals the frenulum in the midline joining the lip to the gum, and the point sits where it meets the gum. Its intra-oral position is why it is needled shallowly and often simply pricked to bleed.

On the name. “Yin Jiao” — Gum Intersection, and not to be confused with REN-07 Yin Jiao (Yin Intersection) on the abdomen, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the REN-07 record queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 561): Inside the mouth, in the superior frenulum, at the junction of the upper lip and the gum.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 235): At the junction of the gum and the frenulum of the upper lip.

How is DU-28 Yin Jiao needled?

Our own record states oblique-upward insertion of 0.1–0.2 inch, or pricking to cause bleeding, and lists no moxibustion. 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: oblique, aimed upward, 0.1–0.2 inch — very shallow, into the thin gum-and-frenulum tissue.
• Bleeding technique: our record offers pricking to bleed, a common method for this intra-oral point (for gum heat and swelling).
• Moxibustion: not listed — moxa is not used inside the mouth.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies on the labial frenulum and upper gum (gingiva); small labial vessels run in the frenulum; the maxilla and the upper incisor roots lie deep.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point at its very shallow depth: no cavity, no organ. As an intra-oral point, hygiene matters — the mouth carries bacteria, so clean technique is important — and the frenulum is sensitive and bleeds readily. Our record carries no arterial caution at DU-28, and it is not among the nine points that do.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at DU-28 could be located, and none is needed at a tenth of an inch. No case report naming DU-28 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-28, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates DU-28. Where the point appears it is one component of a 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-28 Yin Jiao (“Gum Intersection”) is the final point of the Governing vessel, inside the upper lip on the gum, and a Meeting Point with the Conception vessel and the Stomach channel — the place the body’s two great midline vessels are said to link. It clears heat, benefits the gums, nose and eyes. It is one half of a genuine name collision: DU-28 Yin Jiao (Gum Intersection, mouth) is a different point from REN-07 Yin Jiao (Yin Intersection, abdomen).

A note on searching for it. “DU 28”, “GV 28” and “Yinjiao” searches are actively ambiguous — “Yin Jiao” names two different acupuncture points (DU-28 and REN-07). Any claim attached to “Yin Jiao” must be checked against which of the two a source means.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (classification, action, indication and location records; both Yin Jiao points and the three-channel meeting classification queried, against our own data).