# LI18 Futu (Beside The Prominence) – Large Intestine Meridian

扶突 · fú tū

Location: On the lateral side of the neck, level with tip of the adam's apple between sternal and clavicular heads of the scm muscle.

Cautions: Avoid deep needling; proximity to carotid artery and thyroid.

Canonical page: https://acuiq.com/points/li18

## Indications

An indication list is a reference index, not a prescription – see the protocols below for sourced treatments.

Asthma, Benefit Nose, Benefit Nose, Benefit Throat, Benefit Throat, Cough, Difficulty Swallowing, Difficulty Swallowing, Goiter, Hypotension Low Blood Pressure, Hypotension Low Blood Pressure, Myalgia Neck Muscles, Myalgia Neck Muscles, Facial Pain, Facial Pain, Head Pain, Head Pain, Sore Throat, Sore Throat, Saliva Excessive, Excessive Salivation, Scrofula, Swelling, Throat Rattling, Throat Rattling, Torticollis, Voice Loss, Voice Loss, Wheezing

## Most often selected alongside LI18

Sourced protocols in the index pairing each point with this one. Corpus frequency, not a combination to use.

- LI04 (Junction Valley) – 9 protocols
- LU01 (Central Mansion) – 7 protocols
- BL13 (Lung Shu Point) – 6 protocols
- BL20 (Spleen Shu Point) – 6 protocols
- BL23 (Kidney Shu Point) – 6 protocols
- GB12 (Mastoid Process) – 6 protocols
- LU09 (Great Source) – 6 protocols
- ST36 (Leg Three Miles) – 6 protocols

## Protocols using LI18

| Symptoms | Points | Course | Source | Kind | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatigue, Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Confusion, Mood Negative | LI18, SI17, GB12 | 14 days | doi:10.5539/gjhs.v7n4p40 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Copd, Dyspnea Exertional, Respiratory Obstruction | LU01, LU09, LI18, ST36, BL13, BL20, BL23, GB12 | 56 days | doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000004879 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Weight Loss, Copd, Dyspnea, Malnutrition, Exercise Intolerance | LU01, LU09, LI18, ST36, BL13, BL20, BL23, KD03, GB12, CV04, CV12 | 84 days | doi:10.1186/s12906-018-2341-3 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Fatigue, Copd, Dyspnea, Dyspnea Exertional, Exercise Intolerance, Fatigue Leg | LU01, LU09, LI18, ST36, BL13, BL20, BL23, KD03, GB12, CV04, CV12 | 84 days | doi:10.1186/s12906-024-04353-0 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Neck Pain, Stiffness Neck, Limited Range Of Motion Neck | LI04, LI05, LI17, LI18, SI03, SI14, SI15, SI16, BL10, BL11, BL60, TB03, TB10, TB16, GB20, GB21, GB39, GV14, GV16 | 4 days | doi:10.1016/j.imr.2018.01.002 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Chronic Pain, Temporomandibular Joint Pain, Masticatory Muscle Pain, Restricted Movement Jaw | LI18, ST06, ST07, SI19, TB17, GB20, GB21 | 35 days | doi:10.1016/j.imr.2024.101044 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Thyroid Disease | LI04, LI11, LI18, LI20 | – | doi:10.13481/j.1671-587x.1962.01.012 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Thyroid Surgery Anesthesia | LI04, LI18, PC06 | 1 days | doi:10.13192/j.issn.1000-1719.2015.12.050 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Breathing Problems, Copd, Dyspnea, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | LU01, LU09, LI18, ST36, BL10, BL13, BL20, BL23, KD03, CV04, CV12, CV17 | 336 days | doi:10.1183/23120541.00668-2024 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Copd | LU01, LU09, LI18, ST36, BL13, BL20, BL23, GB12 | 56 days | doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000004879 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Weight Loss, Copd Stable | LU01, LU09, LI18, ST36, BL13, BL20, BL23, KD03, GB12, CV04, CV12 | 84 days | doi:10.1186/s12906-018-2341-3 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Paralysis Facial, Trismus | LI04, LI18, LI19, LI20, ST04, ST06, ST07, SI17, SI19, LV03, GV20 | 70 days | doi:10.1136/acupmed-2013-010484 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Achalasia, Dysphagia Post-stroke | LI17, LI18, CV22, CV23 | 28 days | doi:10.13703/j.0255-2930.20190117-00014 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Difficulty Swallowing, Difficulty Swallowing | LI04, LI18, ST09, PC06, LV03, CV22 | 7 days | Deadman, Al-Khafaji & Baker, A Manual of Acupuncture – point group actions | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Voice Lost, Voice Lost | LI04, LI18, ST09, HT05, PC05, CV23, GV15 | 7 days | Deadman, Al-Khafaji & Baker, A Manual of Acupuncture – point group actions | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Soreness Throat, Soreness Throat | LU01, LU10, LU11, LI01, LI04, LI18, ST09 | 7 days | Deadman, Al-Khafaji & Baker, A Manual of Acupuncture – point group actions | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Liver Qi Stagnation, Liver Qi Stagnation | LI17, LI18, ST09, ST15, ST16, ST18, ST25, ST26, ST27, SP13, SP18, HT03, HT04, SI11, BL14, BL16, BL18, BL31, KD21, XB02T9 | 7 days | Yang Yong-Xuan, clinical point-selection notes | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Dizziness, Tinnitus, Headache, Vomiting, Nausea | LI18, SI11, SI14, GB20, GB21, GV16, GV20 | 7 days | Huang ZJ, Chen JX, Qi WW. Clinical Research on Treatment of Vertebroarterial Type of Cervical Spondylosis with 5-step Manipulation and Traction. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2009, 29(4): 268-270 | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Thyroid Surgery Anesthesia, Anesthesia Thyroid Surgery, Intraoperative Pain | LI04, LI18, PC06 | – | 肖鑫冉陈唯依余安胜. 针刺麻醉在甲状腺手术中的作用机制. 中华中医药杂志 ., 2022 [CNKI] | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Surgical Analgesia Pain, Perioperative Analgesia Thyroid Surgery, Thyroid Surgery | LI04, LI18, PC06 | – | 高寅秋时金华刘俊岭薛继秀王均炉汤义寇立华孙新潮高永辉贾擎谢珅雷剑魏滨薛冰李逸飞. 甲状腺手术针药复合麻醉应用指南. 世界中医药 ., 2017 [CNKI] | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Soreness Throat, Yin Deficiency, Tonsilitis, Pharyngitis Chronic, Soreness Throat, Yin Deficiency, Pharyngitis Chronic | LU07, LU10, LI18, KD03, KD06, CV23 | 7 days | sacredlotus.com | web | Point selection published on a website. Not peer-reviewed – check it before relying on it. |

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AcuiQ-authored prose (symptom and meridian descriptions, the wiki, the auricular crosswalk) is licensed CC-BY-4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The assembled protocol compilation is not: build on it with attribution, but do not redistribute it whole as a dataset – https://acuiq.com/terms. The underlying findings are the cited sources' claims – each entry carries its citation; verify against the source before relying on it. Not medical advice: https://acuiq.com/terms