ACUPUNCTURE BOARD PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Five shu-points that have a greater action on disorders along the whole course of the
channel - Answers - Ying - Spring points
Location of the extra point that pacifies wind and calms shen, benefits the nose, and
activates the channel and alleviates pain - Answers - Yin Tang - located at the midpoint
between the medial extremities of the eyebrows
The pinyin name for a Hollow, Scallion Stalk, or Green Onion refers pulse - Answers -
Kou Mai
Palpitation of a Hollow Pulse - Answers - Felt at the superficial level but when one
presses to find the middle level the pulse is not there but with more pressure it is felt at
the deep level; the kou mai is empty in the middle position
Indication of a Hollow Pulse - Answers - Kou mai (hollow pulse) indicates hemorrhage
or a forthcoming hemorrahge (hollow-rapid)
Pinyin for a thready, fine, or thin pulse - Answers - Xi mai
This pulse indicates deficient blood or dampness with severe deficient qi; CAM writes
that the xi mai (thready pulse) feels like a fine thread that is distinct and clear; it
indicates a deficiency of qi and blood; it often manifests in patients with weak body
constitutions in a prolonged disease arising from deficiency of blood and yin; there is
insufficient yin and blood to fill the blood vessels and activate blood circulation -
Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, 2015, page 386; CAM, 3rd Edition, page
290
Using Lachman's Test for grading knee instability you find a 5-10 mm movement. What
is this grade? - Answers - 2+
Source: he grading for knee instability is as follows: 1+ (mild): 5 mm or less; 2+
(moderate): 5-10 mm; 3+ (serious): more than 10 mm. - Dutton's Orthopaedic
Examination, Evaluation and Intervention, 3rd Edition, 2012, page 872
Pinyin name for a Wiry, String-taut, Stringy, or Bowstring pulse - Answers - Xian mai
Source: this xian mai (wiry pulse) feels like a taut guitar string; it is thinner, more taut,
and harder than the jin mai pulse (tight pulse); you can feel the wiry pulse strike the
fingers; this pulse indicates a liver pattern, pain, or phlegm; CAM writes that a xian mai
(string-taut pulse) feels taut, straight, and long; it has the feeling like the string of a
violin; it indicates a shaayang disorder, pain, phlegm, or fluid retention; in a liver/gall
blader disorder, the liver qi tightens the blood vessels; in pain the tightness arises in the
channels and vessels; in phlegm or fluid retention the tightness arises from a
, dysfunction of qi transportation - Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, 2015,
page 386; CAM, 3rd Edition, page 290
Problem of a 55 year-old female is taking Lamisil (terbinafine) - Answers - Fungal
infection
Source: Lamisil (terbinafine) is an antifungal
Infrared therapy is contraindicated in - Answers - Cardiovascular insufficiency
A patient has sudden abdominal pain, diarrhea with pain, cold feelings, and cold
sensation in the abdomen. What tongue is expected? - Answers - Thick, white coating
(Cold invading LI)
A patient has palpitations, pain in heart area, constriction in the chest, bluish lips and
nails, and cold hands. What tongue is expected? - Answers - Purple tongue
(HT blood stagnation)
Burns from moxibustion are more common in which type of conditions? - Answers -
Diabetes mellitus
Source: each patient has a different tolerance to heat; conditions like diabetes,
peripheral neuropathy, neural injuries, or paralysis can have a decreased ability to feel
hot or cold sensations that can limit the response to pain from the moxibustion heat
which can easily result in a burn; it is important to take a patient history to identify
potential patients with a potential decreased sensitivity to hot and cold; it is a critical
recommendation for the practitioner or to have an assistant stay in the treatment room
during the moxibustion treatment; it is strongly recommended that the patient's skin
temperature and the heat generated from the moxa be monitored and not rely on patient
feedback about the moxa heat level - Clean Needle Technique, 7th Edition, page 26
A patient has poor appetite, loose stools, weak voice, shortness of breath, sweats easily
after exertion, and a pale complexion. What tongue is expected? - Answers - Pale
tongue
(SP and LU deficiency)
What is the Xi-Cleft point for Yin Wei Mai? - Answers - KI-9 (zhu bin)
Source: KI-9 is the xi-cleft point of the yin linking vessel; it is 5 cun superior to KI-3; the
yin wei mai connects the yin channels of both hand and foot and the conception vessel;
it has a special action on the heart - Deadman, 2nd Edition, page 349
The main cause of high blood pressure is: - Answers - Unknown
Five shu-points that have a greater action on disorders along the whole course of the
channel - Answers - Ying - Spring points
Location of the extra point that pacifies wind and calms shen, benefits the nose, and
activates the channel and alleviates pain - Answers - Yin Tang - located at the midpoint
between the medial extremities of the eyebrows
The pinyin name for a Hollow, Scallion Stalk, or Green Onion refers pulse - Answers -
Kou Mai
Palpitation of a Hollow Pulse - Answers - Felt at the superficial level but when one
presses to find the middle level the pulse is not there but with more pressure it is felt at
the deep level; the kou mai is empty in the middle position
Indication of a Hollow Pulse - Answers - Kou mai (hollow pulse) indicates hemorrhage
or a forthcoming hemorrahge (hollow-rapid)
Pinyin for a thready, fine, or thin pulse - Answers - Xi mai
This pulse indicates deficient blood or dampness with severe deficient qi; CAM writes
that the xi mai (thready pulse) feels like a fine thread that is distinct and clear; it
indicates a deficiency of qi and blood; it often manifests in patients with weak body
constitutions in a prolonged disease arising from deficiency of blood and yin; there is
insufficient yin and blood to fill the blood vessels and activate blood circulation -
Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, 2015, page 386; CAM, 3rd Edition, page
290
Using Lachman's Test for grading knee instability you find a 5-10 mm movement. What
is this grade? - Answers - 2+
Source: he grading for knee instability is as follows: 1+ (mild): 5 mm or less; 2+
(moderate): 5-10 mm; 3+ (serious): more than 10 mm. - Dutton's Orthopaedic
Examination, Evaluation and Intervention, 3rd Edition, 2012, page 872
Pinyin name for a Wiry, String-taut, Stringy, or Bowstring pulse - Answers - Xian mai
Source: this xian mai (wiry pulse) feels like a taut guitar string; it is thinner, more taut,
and harder than the jin mai pulse (tight pulse); you can feel the wiry pulse strike the
fingers; this pulse indicates a liver pattern, pain, or phlegm; CAM writes that a xian mai
(string-taut pulse) feels taut, straight, and long; it has the feeling like the string of a
violin; it indicates a shaayang disorder, pain, phlegm, or fluid retention; in a liver/gall
blader disorder, the liver qi tightens the blood vessels; in pain the tightness arises in the
channels and vessels; in phlegm or fluid retention the tightness arises from a
, dysfunction of qi transportation - Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, 2015,
page 386; CAM, 3rd Edition, page 290
Problem of a 55 year-old female is taking Lamisil (terbinafine) - Answers - Fungal
infection
Source: Lamisil (terbinafine) is an antifungal
Infrared therapy is contraindicated in - Answers - Cardiovascular insufficiency
A patient has sudden abdominal pain, diarrhea with pain, cold feelings, and cold
sensation in the abdomen. What tongue is expected? - Answers - Thick, white coating
(Cold invading LI)
A patient has palpitations, pain in heart area, constriction in the chest, bluish lips and
nails, and cold hands. What tongue is expected? - Answers - Purple tongue
(HT blood stagnation)
Burns from moxibustion are more common in which type of conditions? - Answers -
Diabetes mellitus
Source: each patient has a different tolerance to heat; conditions like diabetes,
peripheral neuropathy, neural injuries, or paralysis can have a decreased ability to feel
hot or cold sensations that can limit the response to pain from the moxibustion heat
which can easily result in a burn; it is important to take a patient history to identify
potential patients with a potential decreased sensitivity to hot and cold; it is a critical
recommendation for the practitioner or to have an assistant stay in the treatment room
during the moxibustion treatment; it is strongly recommended that the patient's skin
temperature and the heat generated from the moxa be monitored and not rely on patient
feedback about the moxa heat level - Clean Needle Technique, 7th Edition, page 26
A patient has poor appetite, loose stools, weak voice, shortness of breath, sweats easily
after exertion, and a pale complexion. What tongue is expected? - Answers - Pale
tongue
(SP and LU deficiency)
What is the Xi-Cleft point for Yin Wei Mai? - Answers - KI-9 (zhu bin)
Source: KI-9 is the xi-cleft point of the yin linking vessel; it is 5 cun superior to KI-3; the
yin wei mai connects the yin channels of both hand and foot and the conception vessel;
it has a special action on the heart - Deadman, 2nd Edition, page 349
The main cause of high blood pressure is: - Answers - Unknown
