An Ancient Body Map: How One Acupoint Point Guides Measurements in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Since ancient times, Ru Zhong has served as an anatomical landmark to guide practitioner-based and self-treatment.

ST17 Breast Center (Ru Zhong) The Epoch Times

If there’s an acupoint that carries both symbolic and functional weight, it’s Ru Zhong (ST17)—also known as Breast Center. Positioned at the center of the chest, Ru Zhong isn’t famous for dramatic therapeutic interventions but rather for how it helps practitioners and patients navigate the entire torso. Since ancient times, it has served as a widely used anatomical landmark, guiding treatment through proportional mapping instead of rigid measurements.

Here’s the twist: Your traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner can’t needle it. They won’t use the gentle heat therapy called moxibustion either. Instead, this acupoint plays a different kind of role—one rooted in precision, self-awareness, and quiet utility.

A Reference Point With Roots in Classical Medicine

First described in the “Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing” (“A-B Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion”), Ru Zhong is associated with the Stomach meridian, an energetic pathway that links the stomach and carries vital energy, or qi, throughout the body. Ru Zhong is located in the middle of the nipple. Due to its location, it is not used in clinical practice but rather serves as a reference point for finding other clinically significant acupuncture points.