# ST18 Rugen (Breast Root) – Stomach Meridian

乳根 · rǔ gēn

Location: On the chest directly below nipple, on the lower border of the breast, in the 5th intercostal space 4 thumb widths lateral to the anterior midline.

Cautions: Caution in lactating women; avoid direct needling in breast tissue.

Canonical page: https://acuiq.com/points/st18

## Indications

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

Breast Abscess, Breast Abscess, Benefit Breasts, Benefit Breasts, Benefit Digestion, Benefit Digestion, Constriction Oesophagus, Constriction Oesophagus, Cough, Counterflow Inversion Limbs, Counterflow Inversion Limbs, Cramping, Turmoil Disorder, Turmoil Disorder, Shortness of Breath, Labour Dysfunction, Labour Dysfunction, Lactation Deficiency, Lactation Deficiency, Oppression Below Chest, Oppression Below Chest, Oppression Diaphragm, Oppression Diaphragm, Arm Pain, Arm Pain, Below Chest Pain, Below Chest Pain, Breast Pain, Breast Pain, Swelling, Unbind Chest, Unbind Chest, Wheezing

## Most often selected alongside ST18

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

- CV17 (Chest Centre) – 34 protocols
- ST36 (Leg Three Miles) – 25 protocols
- SI01 (Lesser Marsh) – 17 protocols
- GB21 (Shoulder Well) – 12 protocols
- LI04 (Junction Valley) – 12 protocols
- LV03 (Great Surge) – 12 protocols
- CV12 (Stomach Centre) – 11 protocols
- SP06 (Three Yin Intersection) – 10 protocols

## Protocols using ST18

| Symptoms | Points | Course | Source | Kind | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer Breast, Surgical Intraoperative Pain, Surgical Postoperative Pain | LU01, LI04, ST14, ST18, ST36, KD22, KD27, GB24 | 3 days | doi:10.3831/KPI.2018.21.016 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Surgical Intraoperative Pain, Surgical Postoperative Pain, Fistula Breast | LU01, LI04, ST14, ST18, ST36, KD22, KD27, GB24 | 2 days | doi:10.3831/KPI.2018.21.016 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Deficiency, Postpartum Insufficient Milk Production | ST13, ST15, ST16, ST18, ST36, SP06, SP10, GB21, CV17 | 2 days | doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000016456 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Breast Pain, Mastalgia Cyclic, Breast Pain Premenstrual, Mammary Gland Hyperplasia | LI04, ST15, ST18, SP06, SI11, BL17, BL18, LV03, CV17 | 90 days | doi:10.1186/s12906-022-03779-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | ST18, ST36, SP06, SP10, SI01, BL20, BL21, PC06, LV03, LV14, CV06, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | ST18, GB21, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | ST18, ST36, SI01, BL18, BL20, BL21, LV03, LV14, CV12, CV17, GV14 | 8 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | LI04, LI11, ST18, SI01, CV12, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | LU01, LI04, ST17, ST18, SP20, SI01, BL17, BL18, BL20, BL21, GB21, CV17 | 4 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | LU01, LU02, ST13, ST14, ST16, ST18, ST36, SP06, SP10, CV12, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | ST13, ST15, ST16, ST18, ST36, SP06, SP10, GB21, CV17 | 2 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Lactation Insufficiency, Breastfeeding Postpartum | ST18, ST36, SP06, SI01, PC06, LV03, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.22038/ijp.2020.54458.4305 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | ST18, ST36, SP06, SP10, SI01, BL20, BL21, PC06, LV03, LV14, CV06, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | ST18, GB21, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | ST18, SI01, BL18, BL20, BL21, CV17, GV14 | 8 days | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | LI04, LI11, ST18, SI01, CV12, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | LU01, LI04, ST17, ST18, SP20, SI01, BL17, BL18, BL20, BL21, GB21, CV17 | 4 days | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | LU01, LU02, ST13, ST14, ST16, ST18, ST36, SP06, SP10, CV12, CV17 | 3 days | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | ST13, ST15, ST16, ST18, ST36, SP06, SP10, GB21, CV17 | 2 days | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Hypogalactia, Breastfeeding Insufficiency, Lactation Postpartum | ST18, SI01, CV17 | – | doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02773-8 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Insufficient Lactation, Breastfeeding Difficulty | ST18, SI01, CV17 | 21 days | doi:10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_378_23 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Insufficient Lactation, Postpartum Hypogalactia | ST18, ST36, SI01, LV03, CV17 | – | doi:10.1145/3715020.3715068 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Breast Hyperplasia | LI04, ST15, ST18, ST36, SI11, GB21, LV03, CV17 | – | doi:10.16040/j.cnki.cn15-1101.2017.10.121 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Breathing Problems, Copd, Dyspnea, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | ST16, ST18, ST25, ST40, CV04, CV12, CV17 | 56 days | doi:10.1016/j.imr.2024.101117 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Copd Stable | ST18, ST25, CV04, CV12, CV17 | 35 days | doi:10.13703/j.0255-2930.2017.04.005 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Pulmonary Disease Chronic Obstructive | ST16, ST18, ST25, CV04, CV12, CV17 | 33 days | doi:10.13703/j.0255-2930.20200813-0001 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Postoperative Pain, Cancer Breast Pain | LI04, ST14, ST18, ST36, KD22, KD27, GB24 | 1 days | doi:10.3831/KPI.2018.21.016 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Mastitis, Breast Mastitis Pain | ST18, LV14, CV17 | 150 days | doi:10.3389/fsurg.2026.1715357 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Breast Swelling, Breast Pain, Breast Swelling | ST18, ST36, ST40, PC01, PC06, GB34, GB41, LV03, LV14 | 7 days | Deadman, Al-Khafaji & Baker, A Manual of Acupuncture – point group actions | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Lactation Deficiency, Lactation Deficiency | ST18, ST36, SP03, SI01, LV14, CV17 | 7 days | Deadman, Al-Khafaji & Baker, A Manual of Acupuncture – point group actions | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Breast Mastitis Pain, Breast Mastitis Pain | ST18, SI01, PC06, LV02, LV14, CV17 | 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. |
| Neuralgia Trigeminal, Facial Trigeminal Pain | LI04, LI20, ST02, ST04, ST06, ST18, SI18, SI19, BL02, TB23, GB03, GB13, GB14, CV24, GV23 | 10 days | Zhu Xiaojun. Electro-Acupuncture Combined with the Trigger Point Needle Embedding for Treatment of Primary Trigeminal Neuralgia in 32 Cases. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2003, 23(1): 78-80 | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Postpartum Insufficient Lactation | ST18, ST36, CV17 | 5 days | 王官丽代继红张代碧唐素华. 穴位艾灸促进产后泌乳的临床研究. 护理研究 ., 2017 [CNKI] | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Insufficient Lactation Postpartum | ST18, ST36, CV17 | 5 days | 余满荣. 乳房穴位艾灸和通乳颗粒治疗产后缺乳的效果分析. 江西医药 ., 2017 [CNKI] | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Breast Pain, Hyperplasia Mammary Glands, Distending Pain Breast, Breast Masses | LI04, ST15, ST18, ST36, SP06, SI11, BL18, BL20, BL23, KD03, TB05, GB21, LV03 | 45 days | Yu Guo-hua, Zou Lai-yong, Liu Jian-guo. Combination of Acupuncture with Medication for Treatment of Hyperplasia of Mammary Glands in 46 Cases. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, September 2010, Vol. 30, No. 3: 232-234 | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Copd, Copd Stable | ST18, ST25, CV04, CV12, CV17 | 35 days | Tong Juan et al.. [Regulatory effects of acupuncture on exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at stable phase: a randomized controlled trial].. Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion, 2015 | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Breast Pain, Breast Hyperplasia, Breast Nodules | ST15, ST18, ST36, SP10, GB34, CV17 | 90 days | Zhou Lei et al.. [Effect of acupoint-catgut-embedment on mammary gland hyperplasia].. Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research, 2011 | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Heat, Breast Abscess, Liver Qi Stagnation, Breast Abscess, Liver Qi Stagnation | ST18, ST36, SI01, GB21, LV03, CV17 | 7 days | sacredlotus.com | web | Point selection published on a website. Not peer-reviewed – check it before relying on it. |
| Fever, Heat, Breast Abscess, Liver Qi Stagnation, Chills, Breast Abscess, Liver Qi Stagnation | LI04, ST18, ST36, SI01, TB05, GB21, LV03, CV17 | 7 days | sacredlotus.com | web | Point selection published on a website. Not peer-reviewed – check it before relying on it. |
| Heat, Breast Abscess, Liver Qi Stagnation, Bloating, Breast Mastitis Pain, Breast Abscess, Liver Qi Stagnation, Breast Mastitis Pain | ST18, ST36, SI01, GB21, GB41, LV03, CV17 | 7 days | sacredlotus.com | web | Point selection published on a website. Not peer-reviewed – check it before relying on it. |
| Retention Food, Hiccups, Retention Food | ST18, ST36, BL17, BL18, BL46, PC06, CV12, CV14, XL25 | 7 days | sacredlotus.com | web | Point selection published on a website. Not peer-reviewed – check it before relying on it. |
| Hiccups, Retention Food | ST18, ST36, BL17, BL18, BL46, PC06, CV12, CV14, XL25 | 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