LI-13 (Shou Wu Li) Arm Five Li

What does LI-13 Shou Wu Li do?

LI-13 activates the channel and alleviates pain, alleviates coughing, and regulates qi while draining damp and transforming phlegm — and it is one of the small set of points our records mark with an explicit arterial caution.

• Activates the channel and alleviates pain — the arm action, matching its elbow-and-arm indications
• Alleviates coughing
• Regulates qi, drains damp and transforms phlegm — the phlegm action that underlies its classical use for scrofula (phlegm nodules of the neck)

The phlegm thread ties the actions together. “Transforms phlegm”, “alleviates coughing” and the scrofula indication are one idea in TCM — phlegm gathering, whether in the chest as cough or in the neck as nodules. LI-13 shares this phlegm-nodule role with its neighbour LI-14 Bi Nao just above, which our data also records for scrofula; the two upper-arm Large Intestine points work the same territory.

On the name — “Arm Five Li”, and its twin. “Shou Wu Li” means Arm Five Li (a li being a unit of distance). It is the upper-limb counterpart of LIV-10 Zu Wu Li, Foot Five Li — the two “Five Li” points, one on the arm and one on the leg. Both sit close to a large vessel, and both carry a classical reputation for caution: the Ling Shu famously warns against reckless needling of the wu li. Our LIV-10 record notes the femoral vessels beside it; our LI-13 record carries the arterial caution outright.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action and translation records; the LI-14 and LIV-10 records and the nine arterial cautions queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is LI-13 Shou Wu Li used for?

LI-13 is used for contracture and pain of the elbow and arm, and for scrofula. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Contracture (stiffness with inability to straighten) of the elbow and arm
• Pain of the elbow and arm
• Scrofula — the classical term for chronic swollen or matted lymph nodes of the neck

Two kinds of use, one local and one for phlegm nodules. The elbow-and-arm entries are the local channel action; scrofula is the phlegm-transforming action reaching the neck, and it is the entry that gives LI-13 its character beyond a plain arm point.

An honest and necessary note. “Scrofula” is a historical term, and any persistent lump or swelling in the neck requires medical assessment — the causes range from ordinary reactive nodes to tuberculosis (the classical meaning) and to lymphoma and other cancers. A neck lump that is hard, fixed, growing, or present more than a couple of weeks, or that comes with fever, night sweats or weight loss, needs prompt investigation. This record documents a classical indication; it is not a suggestion to treat a neck mass with acupuncture instead of seeking a diagnosis. New numbness or weakness of an arm also requires assessment.

How it is combined. With LI-14 Bi Nao above and LI-11 Qu Chi below for the arm and for scrofula, and with LI-04 He Gu and SJ-05 Wai Guan distally. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the LI-04, LI-11, LI-14 and SJ-05 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is LI-13 Shou Wu Li located?

LI-13 is on the outer side of the upper arm, three cun above LI-11, on the line from LI-11 at the elbow to LI-15 at the shoulder.

• 3 cun above (proximal to) LI-11 Qu Chi, the elbow-crease point
• On the LI-11–to–LI-15 line — the line up the outer upper arm from the elbow to the shoulder point Jian Yu
• On the lateral (outer) aspect of the upper arm, over the brachialis and the lower biceps border

The LI-11–to–LI-15 line orders the upper arm. Qu Chi at the elbow and Jian Yu at the shoulder are the two ends, and the upper-arm Large Intestine points are placed along the line between them: LI-13 at 3 cun from the elbow, LI-14 higher at 7 cun. Our LI-11 and LI-15 records anchor the ends.

The structure that gives this point its caution. A vessel runs close to LI-13 — the reason its needling record carries an explicit arterial caution, discussed on the needling tab. Locating the point by the LI-11–LI-15 line, rather than by probing toward a pulse, is part of why that caution matters.

On the name. “Shou Wu Li” — Arm Five Li, twin to LIV-10 Foot Five Li, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the LI-11 and LI-15 records queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 115): On the lateral side of the upper arm, 3 cun proximal to Quchi L.I.-11, on the line connecting Quchi L.I.-11 with Jianyu L.I.-15.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 142): On the lateral side of the upper arm, on the line connecting Quchi (Ll-11) and Jianyu (LI-15), 3 cun above Quchi (LI-11).

How is LI-13 Shou Wu Li needled, and why the arterial caution?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.5–1.0 inch, and it carries an explicit instruction: “avoid injuring the artery”. Moxibustion is recorded as applicable. 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: perpendicular, 0.5–1.0 inch.
• The recorded caution: “avoid injuring the artery” — carried verbatim in our data. LI-13 is one of only nine points in this library whose record carries an explicit arterial caution, counted by reading every needling record (the nine: ST-05, ST-09, ST-42, SP-12, SJ-22, HT-01, LU-08, LU-09 and LI-13). The vessel here is the accompanying artery of the upper arm running with the radial nerve on the lateral aspect.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable — and moxa, needing no puncture, sidesteps the vessel entirely, which is part of why it is offered here.

Why LI-13 is on the caution list at all. Most arm points carry no arterial warning; LI-13 does because a named vessel lies close to the recorded needle path. The caution is not a prohibition — it is a direction to know the artery is there and to angle and depth away from it, which is exactly why the point is located off a measured line rather than by feeling for the pulse.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at LI-13 could be located, and none is borrowed; the recorded caution stands in its place. No case report naming LI-13 was located.

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

Is there research on LI-13, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates LI-13. 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. LI-13 Shou Wu Li (“Arm Five Li”) is the upper-limb twin of LIV-10 Zu Wu Li (“Foot Five Li”), and like it sits near a large vessel — which is why LI-13 is one of only nine points in this library carrying an explicit arterial caution, “avoid injuring the artery”, verbatim in our record. Its phlegm-transforming action underlies its classical use for scrofula, a use it shares with its neighbour LI-14. It sits 3 cun above LI-11 on the line to the shoulder.

A safety note that outranks any TCM claim. The scrofula indication is historical. A persistent neck lump is a symptom to have diagnosed, not to treat blindly — this page records a classical use and, in the same breath, says to get a neck mass assessed.

A note on searching for it. “LI 13”, “L 13” and “Shouwuli” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material, and “Wu Li” matches both this point and LIV-10. Any claim should be checked against which Five Li a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (action, indication and needling records; the nine arterial cautions and the LIV-10 record queried, against our own data).