ST-03 (Ju Liao) Great Bone Hole

What does ST-03 Ju Liao do?

ST-03 eliminates wind, dissipates swelling and alleviates pain — a face point on the cheek below the eye, and a meeting point of the Stomach channel with the Yang Motility vessel.

• Eliminates wind — the classical cause of the sudden, mobile facial signs it treats (facial droop, eyelid twitching)
• Dissipates swelling and alleviates pain — the local action for swelling and pain of the cheek, lips and teeth

A Yang Motility (Yang Qiao) meeting point. Our record classifies ST-03 as a Meeting Point of the Stomach channel with the Yang Motility (Yang Qiao) vessel. The Yang Qiao governs the muscles of the face and the opening and closing of the eyes in classical thought — which fits a facial point used for facial paralysis and for twitching of the eyelids. Several points around the eye and cheek meet the Yang Qiao, and ST-03 is the Stomach channel’s.

A name collision to flag. There are two points called Ju Liao in our data: ST-03 Ju Liao, Great Bone Hole, here on the face — and GB-29 Ju Liao, Squatting Bone Hole, on the hip. Same pinyin, different Chinese characters for ju (great vs squatting/crouching), different channel, different location. Our library documents this among the genuine point-name collisions; a reference to “Ju Liao” must say which.

On the name. “Ju Liao” here means Great Bone Hole — ju great or large, liao a bone hole; the reading ties it to the large bony hollow of the cheekbone (maxilla) region the point occupies.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, classification, action and translation records; both Ju Liao points — ST-03 and GB-29 — and the Yang Qiao meeting classification queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is ST-03 Ju Liao used for?

ST-03 is used for facial paralysis, twitching of the eyelids, nosebleed, toothache, and swelling of the lips and cheek. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Facial paralysis
• Twitching of the eyelids
• Epistaxis (nosebleed)
• Toothache
• Swelling of the lips and cheek

All of the face, around the point. Facial droop and eyelid twitching are the wind action reaching the facial muscles; nosebleed, toothache, and lip-and-cheek swelling are the local action, the point sitting on the cheek below the eye and beside the nose. It is a coherent facial list.

An honest and necessary note. A NEW FACIAL PARALYSIS OR DROOP REQUIRES URGENT ASSESSMENT — stroke and Bell’s palsy both cause it, both need same-day care, and they cannot be told apart without examination. New or persistent eyelid or facial twitching that spreads or does not settle warrants assessment. Toothache with facial swelling and fever is a medical emergency. A nosebleed that will not stop needs care. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With ST-04 Di Cang at the mouth corner and ST-06 Jia Che at the jaw — the classical facial-palsy trio on the Stomach channel — and with LI-04 He Gu distally for the face and teeth. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the LI-04, ST-04 and ST-06 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is ST-03 Ju Liao located?

ST-03 is on the cheek, directly below the pupil, level with the bottom of the nostril, just to the side of the nose-to-mouth groove.

• Directly below the pupil (with the eyes looking straight ahead) — the vertical “pupil line” the Stomach face points share
• Level with the lower border of the ala nasi (the bottom edge of the nostril)
• On the lateral (outer) side of the nasolabial groove — the crease running from the nose to the mouth corner

Two crossing lines fix it. The Stomach face points run down a vertical line through the pupil: ST-01 Cheng Qi below the eye, ST-02 Si Bai lower, and ST-03 Ju Liao lower again at nostril level. Where the pupil line meets the horizontal level of the nostril base is ST-03, just outside the nose-to-mouth crease. Both landmarks are on the face and need no measurement.

On the name. “Ju Liao” — Great Bone Hole, the cheekbone hollow, and not to be confused with GB-29 Ju Liao on the hip, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the ST-01 and ST-02 records queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 131): With the eyes looking directly forwards, this point is located directly below the pupil, level with the lower border of the ala nasi, on the lateral side of the naso-labial groove.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 145): Directly below the pupil, at the level of the lower border of ala nasi on the lateral side of the nasolabial groove.

How is ST-03 Ju Liao needled?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.3–0.5 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.

• Angle and depth as recorded: perpendicular, 0.3–0.5 inch — shallow, as face points are.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable, though moxa is generally used with caution on the face for cosmetic reasons.
• Regional anatomy: the point overlies the maxilla (cheekbone) beneath the elevator muscles of the upper lip; the facial artery and vein and the infraorbital nerve (emerging from the infraorbital foramen just above) run in the region; bone lies close beneath.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point at its recorded shallow depth: no body cavity, no organ, bone close beneath. The face is vascular — small vessels here bruise readily — and the infraorbital nerve makes the area sensitive. Our record carries no arterial caution at ST-03, and it is not among the nine points that do; the shallow depth reflects delicate facial tissue rather than a deep danger.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at ST-03 could be located, and none is borrowed. No case report naming ST-03 was located.

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

Is there research on ST-03, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates ST-03. Where the point appears it is one component of a facial-palsy protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. ST-03 Ju Liao (“Great Bone Hole”) is a cheek point below the pupil at nostril level, a Meeting Point of the Stomach channel with the Yang Motility (Yang Qiao) vessel — a classification that fits its use for facial paralysis and eyelid twitching, the Yang Qiao governing the facial muscles and the eyes. It is one half of a genuine name collision: ST-03 Ju Liao (Great Bone Hole, face) is a different point from GB-29 Ju Liao (Squatting Bone Hole, hip).

A safety note that outranks any TCM claim. A new facial droop is an emergency to have assessed same-day. This page records classical use and says so in the same breath.

A note on searching for it. “ST 3”, “S 3” and “Juliao” searches are actively ambiguous — “Ju Liao” names two different acupuncture points (ST-03 and GB-29). Any claim attached to “Ju Liao” must be checked against which of the two a source means.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (classification, action, indication and location records; both Ju Liao points and the Yang Qiao classification queried, against our own data).