Cleft Points
TCM believes that these sixteen special points are where the meridians' qi deeply gathered, and they are mostly located distal to the elbow and knee joints. Under normal circumstances they cannot be attacked easily by the pathogens. In cases if there are reactions in these points, it means pathogens have deeply entered the body and conditions can develop rapidly and seriously. The cleft points are often selected when acute severe pain and inflammation occurred along the meridians or in the corresponding organs. The cleft points in the yin meridians tend to arrest bleeding, relive emergency, acute inflammation and stubborn conditions, while those in the yang meridians tend to stop pain. For example, kong zui (Lu 6) is used for vomiting up of blood due to lung diseases, zhong du (Lr 6) for excessive menstruation, and wen liu (Li 7) for toothache.
The cleft points can be used alone, but often be combined with the eight influential points in acute conditions. For example, in treating acute gastritis, physicians will select liang qiu (St 34) and combine it with zhong wan (Cv 12, influential point of the qi).
Table of the 16 Cleft Points on the Yin and Yang Meridians
| Yin Meridians | Cleft points | Yang Meridians | |
| Lung Meridian | kong zui (Lu 6) | wen liu (Li 7) | Large Intestine Meridian |
| Pericardium Meridian | xi men (Pc 4) | hui zong (Sj 7) | Triple Burner Meridian |
| Heart Meridian | yin xi (Ht 6) | yang lao (Si 6) | Small Intestine Meridian |
| Spleen Meridian | di ji (Sp 8) | liang qiu (St 34) | Stomach Meridian |
| Liver Meridian | zhong du (Lr 6) | wai qiu (Gb 36) | Gallbladder Meridian |
| Kidney Meridian | shui quan (Ki 5) | jin men (Bl 63) | Bladder Meridian |
| Yin Link Vessel | zhu bin (Ki 9) | yang jiao (Gb 35) | Yang Link Vessel |
| Yin Heel Vessel | jiao xin (Ki 8) | fu yang (Bl 59) | Yang Heel Vessel |
Cleft points on the arms
Cleft points on the legs
