The Bladder Meridian

The Bladder meridian (Zu Tai Yang Pang Guang Jing) is one of the twelve principal channels of Chinese medicine, the network along which qi is held to circulate through the body. It is a Yang channel, paired with the Bladder, and belongs to the phase of Water in the five-phase (wu xing) scheme.

Function in the tradition

In the theory of the channels this meridian is concerned with the storing and discharge of fluid; its channel is the longest, running the length of the back. The twelve principal channels are arranged in yin-yang pairs and in a daily cycle through which qi is said to pass from one to the next, and the points along them are those used in acupuncture and related therapies.

The meridian is described here as a concept of traditional Chinese medicine, a system of ideas and practice with a long documented history, rather than as an anatomical structure of Western physiology.