SP-11 (Ji Men) Winnower Gate

What does SP-11 Ji Men do?

SP-11 regulates urination and drains damp while clearing heat — a urinary-and-damp point high on the inner thigh, on the way from the knee to the groin.

• Regulates urination — the action behind its use for difficult and involuntary urination
• Drains damp and clears heat — damp-heat sinking to the lower jiao, the classical pattern behind urinary difficulty and inguinal swelling

A damp-heat point of the lower jiao. Both recorded actions point the same way — clearing damp-heat from the bladder and the groin. SP-11 sits between SP-10 Xue Hai at the knee and SP-12 Chong Men at the groin, and shares SP-12’s damp-heat-and-urination action while lacking SP-12’s arterial position. It has no five-shu element and no special classification; it is used for what its two actions name.

On the name. “Ji Men” means Winnower Gate or Basket Gate — ji a winnowing basket, men a gate. The reading usually offered likens the shape made by the thighs, or the position at the top of the inner thigh, to a winnowing basket; the point is the gate of that region.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action and translation records; the SP-10 and SP-12 records queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is SP-11 Ji Men used for?

SP-11 is used for difficult or involuntary urination, pain and swelling in the groin, and pain, weakness or paralysis of the lower limb. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Dysuria (difficult or painful urination)
• Enuresis (involuntary urination)
• Pain and swelling in the inguinal (groin) region
• Muscular atrophy and motor impairment of the lower limb
• Pain and paralysis of the lower extremities

Urinary-and-groin, plus the local leg. The urination and groin entries are the damp-heat action of the lower jiao; the atrophy, weakness and paralysis of the lower limb are local and channel-based, the point high on the thigh. The groin swelling sits at the junction of the two — local to the point and part of the lower-jiao picture.

An honest note. Difficulty passing urine, or an inability to, requires prompt medical assessment — acute retention is an emergency, and painful urination can mean infection. A lump or swelling in the groin requires assessment — a hernia (which can strangulate) and enlarged lymph nodes are among the causes. New weakness or wasting of a leg requires assessment. This record documents classical use only.

A necessary practical note. This point is high on the inner thigh, near the groin — a private region. Treatment here calls for the same standards of consent, draping and professional conduct that apply anywhere in that area.

How it is combined. With SP-10 Xue Hai below and SP-09 Yin Ling Quan for damp, and with SP-06 San Yin Jiao and REN-03 Zhong Ji for the urinary indications. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the SP-06, SP-09, SP-10 and REN-03 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is SP-11 Ji Men located?

SP-11 is high on the inner thigh, six cun above SP-10, on the line from SP-10 at the knee to SP-12 at the groin.

• 6 cun above SP-10 Xue Hai, which sits just above the inner end of the kneecap
• On the line from SP-10 to SP-12 Chong Men — the medial-thigh line running up toward the groin
• High on the inner thigh, over the sartorius muscle and the femoral triangle’s territory

Placed on the SP-10–to–SP-12 line. SP-10 at the knee and SP-12 at the groin crease are the two ends, and SP-11 lies on the line between them, 6 cun up from SP-10. The line runs up the front-inner thigh over the sartorius. Our SP-10 and SP-12 records anchor the ends.

A structure that runs beside this line. The femoral artery runs down the front of the inner thigh, and this line passes near its course — the reason SP-11 is treated with care and its groin neighbour SP-12 carries an explicit arterial caution. Locating SP-11 by the SP-10–SP-12 line, and being aware of the pulse, both matter here.

On the name. “Ji Men” — Winnower Gate, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the SP-10 and SP-12 records queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 197): On the medial side of the thigh, 6 cun superior to Xuehai SP-10, on a line connecting Xuehai SP-10 with Chongmen SP-12.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 160): 6 cun above Xuehai (SP-10), on the line drawn from Xuehai (SP-10) to Chongmen (SP-12).

How is SP-11 Ji Men needled?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.5–1.0 inch, with moxibustion applicable. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents. It is not instruction, and this page does not teach technique — and the femoral vessels in this region make that emphasis real.

• Angle and depth as recorded: perpendicular, 0.5–1.0 inch.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies over the sartorius on the front-inner thigh; the femoral artery and vein run through the femoral triangle in this region, and the femoral and saphenous nerves are nearby; the femur lies deep.

Hazard, stated honestly. The important structure here is the femoral vessels on the front-inner thigh. Our SP-11 record, notably, carries no explicit arterial caution — and it is not among the nine points in the library whose records do — whereas its groin neighbour SP-12 Chong Men, which sits right beside the pulsating artery, does. We record that difference as our data holds it, rather than importing SP-12’s caution onto SP-11. That said, the femoral vessels’ presence in this region is exactly why the point is located off a measured line and why it is not a point for self-treatment.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at SP-11 could be located, and none is borrowed. No case report naming SP-11 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged; the nine arterial cautions and the SP-12 caution queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on SP-11, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates SP-11. 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. SP-11 Ji Men (“Winnower Gate”) is a damp-heat and urinary point high on the inner thigh, between SP-10 at the knee and SP-12 at the groin, sharing SP-12’s damp-heat-and-urination action. It carries no five-shu element and no special classification. And a careful distinction our data makes: SP-11’s own record carries no arterial caution, while its groin neighbour SP-12 — beside the pulsating artery — does; the femoral vessels run through this region regardless, so the point is treated with care.

A note on searching for it. “SP 11”, “SP-11” and “Jimen” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — and “Jimen” is a common Chinese place and personal name. 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 SP-12 arterial caution and the nine arterial cautions queried, against our own data).