Objective To analyze and sum up clinical application regularities of Chengshan(BL57) acupoint in ancient Chinese literature. Methods The book Zhonghua Yidian(Collection of Chinese Medical Classic Works

5

(th)

edition) containing 1 156 ancient medical books was used as the retrieved literature source. The key retrieval words used were BL57 acupoint related indications

prescriptions

treatment methods and taboos

followed by sorting out relevant articles and establishing a database.Results A total of 196 articles meeting our inclusion standards of the present study

involving 61 ancient books which contain 174 related terms covering 56 diseases or syndromes of internal medicine

surgery

pediatrics

ophthalmology and otorhinola-ryngology

etc.. Among them

the most frequently attending disease treated by single BL57 or acupoints combination was limb meridian disorders

and the most frequently used auxiliary acupoint was Kunlun(BL60). The most frequently used auxiliary meridian was the Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang. In addition

a total of 71 terms involved the acupuncture and moxibustion techniques of BL57

covering 7 treatment methods. In terms of the treatment methods

the dose of moxibustion was five cones in each session

and the depth of acupuncture needle insertion was about seven fen. Conclusion BL57 is widely used in various clinical departments

especially for limb meridian diseases.