What Is Iridology?

Iridology, commonly known as Iridodiagnosis, is a form of alternative medicine technique that uses colors, patterns and various other properties of the iris to examine and evaluate an individual's general health. The technique of Iridology is generally based on the presumption each organ in humans has a corresponding region in the iris. Thus, their proper functioning can be examined by simply examining the iris.

Origin of Iridology

The first use of Iridology was done approximately around the 19th century when physicist Ignaz Peczely thought about this technique while examining similar streaks in a patient he was treating for a fractured leg and the eyes of a vulture whose leg Peczely had accidentally broken few years back. But people dismissed Peczely's claims as mere myth and said such results cannot be produced time and again, and that the case of Peczely was just a coincidence. Iridology began to get recognized around the 1960s when American chiropractor Bernard Jensen, who is also the author of many articles and novels, started giving classes about the technique of Iridology in his unique way. Jensen also conducted various experiments and studies on various other issues such as Hydrotherapy and acupuncture.

Methods Used in Iridology

Iridology technique generally utilizes equipment such as flashlights, cameras, magnifying glasses and microscopes to examine the patient's iris to detect any kind of tissue change, along with certain features such as irregular stomal formation and pigment patterns. The results are then compared with an iris chart, which helps in correlating the various parts of the human body with the different zones in the iris. A typical iris chart usually divides the iris into about 90 zones, each corresponding to a different body organ. The iridologists generally believe the details reflected by the iris are generally the changes in the tissues of the corresponding body organelle.

Criticism Associated with Iridology

Doctors have rejected the technique of Iridology, often calling it as a pseudoscience. Iridologists practicing Iridology are rarely physicians, and Iridology is mostly taught and studied at private institutes. This technique is not taught at any medical schools. Most doctors practicing reject Iridology as a form of medicinal treatment, claiming its success rate is pretty less and it's just a system full of errors. Doctors claim the tissues of the iris do not undergo many changes during a person's lifespan, so it is impossible to study the tissue changes of other organs in the body when the tissue of the iris does not change.

Scientific Research Associated with Iridology

Various scientific studies that have been conducted on Iridology have mostly yielded negative results, leading to a situation where in Iridologists wrongly diagnose a certain disease because of the faulty Iridology technology. In 1988, 40 patients were wrongly diagnosed for gall bladder stones, but further medical investigations and a diagnosis contradicted the Iridologists' claims, leading to a conclusion among the medical practitioners that Iridology technique is not a useful technology to detect and diagnose various medical ailments.

Regulation and Certification of Iridology Technique

Because of the various ill effects and drawbacks of Iridology, it is not regulated and certified by government organizations across various nations, including the United States and Canada.