GB03 Shangguan (Above The Arch)

Location

In the front of the ear on the upper border of the zygomatic arch in the depression the directly above the ST07.

Indications

Conditions for which GB03 is listed as indicated. An indication list is a reference index, not a prescription – see the protocols below for sourced treatments.

TCM actions

What classical sources say GB03 does in the terms of Chinese medicine theory. These describe the point, not a condition.

Protocols using GB03

• Trigeminal Neuralgia – ST07, GB03 (doi:10.1016/s0254-6272(10)60018-0 ↗)
• Trigeminal Neuralgia – LI04, LI20, ST02, ST06, ST07, ST08, ST41, ST44, SP06, SI18, BL02, BL65, TB05, TB17, GB03, GB14, GB20, LV03, CV24 (doi:10.1016/s0254-6272(10)60018-0 ↗)
• Neuralgia Trigeminal, Facial Trigeminal Pain – LI04, LI20, ST02, ST04, ST06, ST18, SI18, SI19, BL02, TB23, GB03, GB13, GB14, CV24, GV23 (doi:10.1016/s0254-6272(08)60005-9 ↗)
• Neuralgia Trigeminal, Facial Paroxysmal Pain, Facial Lancinating Pain – LI04, LI20, ST02, ST04, ST06, SI18, GB03, CV24 (doi:10.1016/s0254-6272(08)60005-9 ↗)
• Radicular Pain, Low-back Pain, Lumbar Disc Herniation, Paresthesia Lower-limb, Disc-herniation Lumbar – BL23, BL24, BL25, BL26, BL40, BL60, GB03, GV03 (doi:10.1155/2018/5871657 ↗)
• Dysphagia, Temporomandibular Joint Pain, Temporomandibular Disorder, Jaw Opening Restriction, Aspiration Pneumonia, Masticatory Muscle Pain – ST04, ST06, ST07, SI19, TB20, GB03, GB20 (doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000018013 ↗)
• Low Back Pain, Paresthesia Lower Extremity, Disc Herniation Lumbar, Radiating Lower Extremity Pain, Lower Extremity Weakness – BL23, BL24, BL25, BL26, BL40, BL60, GB03, GV03 (doi:10.2147/JPR.S234761 ↗)
• Ptosis, Diplopia, Ophthalmoplegia, Palsy Oculomotor – ST01, BL01, BL02, TB17, TB23, GB03, GB12, GB20 (doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000043279 ↗)
• Airway Hyperresponsiveness, Asthma Intermittent, Asthma Mild – LU01, LU05, LU07, LU09, LU11, LI04, LI06, LI20, ST13, ST25, ST36, ST40, ST44, SP03, SP06, SP09, SP10, HT03, HT05, HT07, SI03, BL13, BL17, BL18, BL20, BL21, BL23, KD03, KD06, KD08, KD27, PC06, TB05, TB15, GB03, GB34, GB40, GB41, LV02, LV03, LV08, LV13, CV04, CV06, CV09, CV17, CV21, GV04, GV13 (doi:10.1186/s13052-015-0155-1 ↗)
• Temporomandibular Joint Disorder – LI04, ST06, ST07, ST36, SI18, SI19, TB17, GB02, GB03, GB20 (doi:10.13359/j.cnki.gzxbtcm.2024.03.026 ↗)
• Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, Jaw Pain, Dysphagia, Trismus, Limited Mouth Opening – ST04, ST06, ST07, SI19, TB20, GB03, GB20, XH05 (doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000018013 ↗)
• Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, Jaw Pain, Tmj Pain – ST05, ST06, ST07, TB16, TB17, TB20, GB03, GB07, GB08 (doi:10.2147/JPR.S383965 ↗)
• Tinnitus, Hearing Loss – LI04, SI19, KD03, TB17, TB21, GB02, GB03 (doi:10.1177/19336586251363176 ↗)
• Dysphagia, Temporomandibular Disorder, Aspiration Pneumonia – ST04, ST06, ST07, SI19, TB20, GB03, GB20, XH05 (doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000018013 ↗)
• Neuralgia Trigeminal – ST07, SI12, BL10, BL12, TB17, GB03, GB19, GB20, GB21, GV09, GV16, GV20, XH03 (doi:10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250123-0001 ↗)
• Diplopia, Ptosis Eyelid, Oculomotor Nerve Palsy – ST01, BL01, BL02, TB17, TB23, GB03, GB12, GB20 (doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000043279 ↗)
• Dizziness, Hearing Loss Sudden Sensorineural – SI19, TB17, TB20, TB21, GB02, GB03, XH05 (doi:10.56986/pim.2026.02.008 ↗)
• Neuralgia Trigeminal, Facial Pain – ST06, ST07, ST08, SI18, TB23, GB03, GB14, XH05 (doi:10.31579/2693-4779/121 ↗)
• Paralysis Facial – LI02, LI04, LI06, ST04, ST06, ST07, ST44, TB17, GB02, GB03, LV02, CV24, GV26 (马天一谢煜谭丽刘纯燕徐振华. 基于数据挖掘分析古籍针灸治疗面瘫的腧穴应用规律. 针灸临床杂志 ., 2019 [CNKI])
• Trismus – LI04, ST06, ST07, GB03 (Henry C. Lu. Clinical Cases of Acupuncture)

Most often selected alongside GB03

How many sourced protocols in the index pair each point with GB03. Corpus frequency, not a combination to use.

• ST06Jaw Bone11 protocols
• ST07Below The Arch11 protocols
• TB17Hurricane9 protocols
• GB20Wind Pool8 protocols
• LI04Junction Valley8 protocols
• SI19Palace Of Hearing7 protocols
• ST04Earth Granary6 protocols
• SI18Cheek Bone Hole5 protocols
• TB20Angle Vertex5 protocols
• BL02Gathered Bamboo4 protocols
• CV24Saliva Receptacle4 protocols
• GB02Hearing Convergence4 protocols

Other points on the Gallbladder Meridian