LI-19 (He Liao) Grain Bone Hole

What does LI-19 He Liao do?

LI-19 eliminates wind and opens the nasal passages — a focused face point beside the nostril, its whole action being the nose.

• Eliminates wind — the classical cause of the sudden, mobile facial and nasal symptoms it treats
• Opens the nasal passages — the local action, matching its blocked-nose and nosebleed indications

A local nose point, near the channel’s end. The Large Intestine channel finishes just above, crossing to the opposite side of the nose to end at LI-20 Ying Xiang beside the nostril; LI-19 sits a little below LI-20, under the outer edge of the nostril. Both are nose points, and LI-19’s action — open the nose, expel wind — is the near-twin of its more famous neighbour’s. Our LI-20 Ying Xiang record holds the channel’s principal nose point.

A name collision worth flagging. There are two points called He Liao in our data, and they are different points: LI-19 He Liao, rendered Grain Bone Hole, here beside the nose — and SJ-22 He Liao, rendered Harmony Bone Hole, on the side of the head at the temple. Same pinyin (“He Liao”), different Chinese characters for he (grain vs harmony), different locations. Our library documents this among the genuine point-name collisions; a reference to “He Liao” must say which.

On the name. “He Liao” here means Grain Bone Hole — he grain or cereal, liao a bone hole; the grain reading is usually tied to the mouth and the taking-in of food just below the point.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action and translation records; both He Liao points — LI-19 and SJ-22 — and the LI-20 record queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is LI-19 He Liao used for?

LI-19 is used for nasal obstruction, nosebleed, and deviation of the mouth. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Nasal obstruction (blocked or stuffy nose)
• Epistaxis (nosebleed)
• Deviation of the mouth

Nose and mouth — the face beside the point. The blocked nose and nosebleed are the nasal action directly; deviation of the mouth is the facial-wind indication, the point lying between nose and mouth where the facial muscles run. It is a small, local list, and honestly so — LI-19 is a face point, not a systemic one.

An honest and necessary note. A NEW FACIAL DROOP OR DEVIATION OF THE MOUTH REQUIRES URGENT ASSESSMENT — stroke and Bell’s palsy both cause it and both need same-day care; the two cannot be told apart without examination. A nosebleed that will not stop, is heavy, or follows a head injury needs medical care. A persistently blocked nose on one side, or with bleeding, warrants assessment. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With LI-20 Ying Xiang just above — the principal nose point — and DU-26 Ren Zhong, which lies at the same level, for the face. With LI-04 He Gu distally, the classical face-and-nose command point. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the DU-26, LI-04 and LI-20 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is LI-19 He Liao located?

LI-19 is on the face, directly below the outer edge of the nostril, level with the midpoint of the philtrum (DU-26).

• Right below the lateral (outer) margin of the nostril
• Level with DU-26 Ren Zhong (Shui Gou) — the point in the philtrum, the groove between nose and upper lip; LI-19 sits at that same height, out under the nostril
• Roughly below and lateral to LI-20 Ying Xiang, which sits higher, in the groove beside the nostril

Fixed by the nostril and the philtrum line. Two landmarks pin it: the outer edge of the nostril directly above, and the horizontal level of DU-26 in the philtrum. Where those meet — under the nostril’s outer margin, at philtrum height — is LI-19. Both landmarks are on the face and need no measurement.

On the name. “He Liao” — Grain Bone Hole, and, as noted, not to be confused with SJ-22 He Liao (Harmony Bone Hole) at the temple.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the DU-26 and LI-20 records queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 119): Below the lateral margin of the nostril, 0.5 cun lateral to Renzhong DU-26.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 144): Right below the lateral margin of the nostril, level with Renzhong (Shuigou, DU-26).

How is LI-19 He Liao needled?

Our own record states oblique insertion of 0.2–0.3 inch — a shallow, angled depth, with no moxibustion recorded (as is usual for a point on the face beside the nose). 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, 0.2–0.3 inch — one of the shallower depths in our data, appropriate to the thin tissue of the face.
• Moxibustion: not listed in our record — moxa is generally avoided on the face for cosmetic and safety reasons, and its absence here is consistent with that.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies over the upper lip’s elevator muscles beside the nostril; the facial artery’s branches (including the superior labial artery) run in the region, and the infraorbital nerve supplies the area; the maxilla lies deep.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point at its recorded shallow depth: no body cavity, no organ. The face is vascular — small vessels here bruise readily, and the absence of moxa and the shallow oblique angle both reflect that this is delicate cosmetic territory rather than any deep danger. Our record carries no arterial caution at LI-19, and it is not among the nine points that do.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at LI-19 could be located, and none is needed at a fifth of an inch. No case report naming LI-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 LI-19, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates LI-19. Where the point appears it is one component of a rhinitis or facial-palsy protocol — usually with LI-20 — and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. LI-19 He Liao is a local nose point below the outer nostril, level with DU-26; its whole action is to open the nose and expel wind, and its three indications — blocked nose, nosebleed, mouth deviation — are all of the face it sits on. It is the near-neighbour of the channel’s principal nose point LI-20 Ying Xiang. And it is one half of a genuine name collision: LI-19 He Liao (Grain Bone Hole) is a different point from SJ-22 He Liao (Harmony Bone Hole) at the temple.

A note on searching for it. “LI 19”, “L 19” and “Heliao” searches are actively ambiguous — “He Liao” names two different acupuncture points (LI-19 and SJ-22). Any claim attached to “He Liao” must be checked against which of the two a source means.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (action, indication and location records; both He Liao points and the LI-20 record queried, against our own data).