Anatomy of the Cun Position at Wrist and Its Application in Pulse Diagnosis.

Peng Li,Xiang-Nan Chen,Jin-Sheng Liu,Su-Ming Jiang,Yi-Kuan Du,Xue-Peng Zhang,Chun Yang

doi:10.1155/2019/1796576

Abstract

Information on anatomy of the Cun position at wrist is lacking; whether the blood vessel taking pulse in Cun is the radial artery or the superficial palmar branch is also clinically controversial. The objective was to investigate the boundaries and contents, and the vascular distribution and their pulse points in Cun. Thirty-two upper extremities of 16 human cadavers were investigated for dissection and observation. The boundaries, contents, and blood vessel distribution in Cun were observed; the location of pulse points in Cun was identified; the length of the superficial palmar branch in wrist pulse (L1), the pulp width of the index finger (L2), and the angle between the radial artery and the superficial palmar branch were measured. The results showed that the Cun was located in the region formed by the bulge of the prominent bone proximal to the palm, the radial flexor tendon, the tubercle of scaphoid, and the abductor longus muscle tendon. In this area, the radial artery could be pulsed part in the medial side of the abductor longus muscle tendon, while the superficial palmar branch lied near the surface and was easy to pulse in the lateral side of the radial flexor tendon and the medial side of the tubercle of scaphoid. The ratio of L1 to L2 was 1.2±0.8, and the angle was 23.3±9.9°. The results suggested that it could not be generalized that the blood vessel taking pulse in Cun was the radial artery or the superficial palmar branch; it might depend on the vascular distribution in Cun, the region of finger positioning, and the patient's pulse condition.

Highlights

IntroductionIn traditional Chinese medicine, wrist pulse-taking method is an approach by which a practitioner understands the pathologic properties of a disease (including yin and yang, exterior and interior, cold and heat, deficiency and excess) and implements syndrome differentiation and treatment
In traditional Chinese medicine, wrist pulse-taking method is an approach by which a practitioner understands the pathologic properties of a disease and implements syndrome differentiation and treatment
When the skin was removed, we found the tributaries of the cephalic vein ascended along wrist pulse and the vein formed anastomoses with the radial venae in deep; the terminal branches of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve and the superficial radial nerve were distributed separately in the medial and the lateral of the bulge of the prominent bone proximal to the palm (Figure 1(b))

Summary

Introduction

In traditional Chinese medicine, wrist pulse-taking method is an approach by which a practitioner understands the pathologic properties of a disease (including yin and yang, exterior and interior, cold and heat, deficiency and excess) and implements syndrome differentiation and treatment. It is one of the four examinations (inspection, listening and smelling examination, inquiry, and pulse taking and palpation) and plays a key role [1]. This study suggested the pulse-frequency spectrum at right Guan was a more effective characteristic for dyspepsia patients [4]; pulse waveform harmonics based on the resonance theory showed that no marked differences were observed on the identified internal organ among the Chi-Guan-Cun positions. A lot of work has been done on the pulse diagnosis, these are far from enough to explain the rich connotation of the wrist pulse-taking method in traditional Chinese medicine, and there are still many problems to be further studied

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Conclusion