Generality
Iridology, or iridodiagnosis, is a diagnostic technique of alternative medicine, which considers the evaluation of an individual's health status, through the observation of his irises.
Iridology bases its theories on the idea that irises represent an anatomical mapping of the human body, a mapping that includes organs, joints, bony structures and glands.
No clinical or scientific study has demonstrated the effectiveness of iridology in the diagnostic field.
The main critics of iridology are the doctors, who state that the iris of the human eye is a stable phenotypic characteristic over the course of life and independent of the affections affecting the various organs and other anatomical structures of the human body.
What is iridology?
Iridology, or iridodiagnosis, is a diagnostic practice of alternative medicine, based on the idea that it is possible to assess a person's state of health, based on the characteristics of the iris, its anomalies and its changes.
Therefore, the promoters of iridology and its practitioners believe that, from the careful observation of an individual's iris, it is possible to obtain information relating to the health of the latter.
A brief review of what the iris is
For readers who are not aware of it, the iris is the colored and ring-shaped area of the eye, at the center of which is the pupil .
The iris belongs to the so-called medium tunic of the eye (or uvea ), contains blood vessels, pigmented cells and two layers of smooth muscle.
THE DETAILS OF THE THEORY
Iridologists - or iridology lovers - base their theories and statements on the idea that organs, joints, bony structures and glands of the human body correspond to certain areas of the right iris and left iris. In other words, according to iridologists, the irises would be equivalent to topographic maps on which the map of the anatomical elements of the human body is reproduced in very specific areas.
On the basis of these principles, for iridologists, the observation of irises would represent a diagnostic tool, since, from an anomaly or an irregularity of the right iris or of the left iris, it is possible to understand which organ or part of the body he is suffering.
Iridologists are keen to point out that their diagnostic method allows:
- Identify the seat of suffering, but not to understand precisely the type of disease present.
- Understanding whether, in the past, a certain part of the human body has suffered from any disorder (eg, bone fracture).
THE IRIS AS A MAP OF THE HUMAN BODY
To map the irises - that is to identify on the irises the zones corresponding to the various organs of the human body - was the well-known iridologist named Bernard Jensen (1908-2001).
During his work on mapping irises, Jensen identified 166 areas (or zones), 80 on the right iris and 86 on the left iris .
Moreover, he thought that, to simplify the consultation of the resulting maps, it was appropriate to subdivide the single irises as the quadrant of a clock.
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History
The idea that something from the observation of the eyes can be said about the health of an individual is a very ancient subject, which has aroused considerable interest.
The first explicit description of the diagnostic power of iris observation is found in a text published in 1665 and entitled Chiromatica Medica . The author of Medical Chiromatica seems to be a certain Philippus Meyeus, also called Philip Meyen von Coburg .
For iridologists, there are two fathers of iridology: a Hungarian named Ignaz von Peczely and a Swede named Nils Liljequist, both of whom lived in the nineteenth century.
Von Peczely and Liljequist published several writings, in which they claimed to have noticed changes in the irises of people and animals that, in the past, had suffered from some disorder or health problem (eg, leg fracture).
Another iridologist of the past, who deserves a special mention, is the German Pastor Emanuel Felke . Felke's contribution to iridology dates back to the early 1900s.
The diffusion and notoriety of modern iridology in the world is due to the aforementioned Bernard Jensen and his collaborators P. Johannes Thiel, Eduard Lahn and J. Haskell Kritzer .
Reliability and criticism
Iridology is a practice devoid of any scientific foundation .
In fact, no study conducted so far has proven the effective diagnostic efficacy of iridology. In other words, there is no evidence to support the fact that looking at a person's iris makes it possible to diagnose the possible presence of a suffering organ.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND IRIDOLOGY: THE SCORING TESTS
- One of the first studies that demonstrated the ineffectiveness of iris observation, as a diagnostic tool, dates back to 1957. This research took place in Germany and those who performed it analyzed the iris of more than 1, 000 people.
- In 1979, the well-known iridologist Bernard Jensen and two of his colleagues were put to the test in an interesting experiment, after which the iridology proved ineffective.
The experiment in question consisted in making Jensen and colleagues observe the irises of 143 potential kidney patients and ask them to identify the sick people.
Of the 143 individuals selected for iris observation, there were only 48 kidney patients, but this information was clearly unknown to iridologists.
At the end of their observations, the 3 iridologists failed to correctly identify the sick and the number of patients. For example, one of the three iridology experts stated that 88% of the individuals belonging to the healthy group had kidney disease and that 74% of the individuals belonging to the kidney group were healthy.
- During a study similar to the previous one, a team of researchers selected 39 individuals who, due to the presence of gallstones, would have had to undergo surgical removal of the gallbladder the following day. Thus, the same team also selected a group of healthy people.
At this point, the researchers put the two groups together and turned to 5 iridologists, asking them to observe the irises of all the selected individuals and indicate which of the latter had some problem with the gall bladder.
The outcome was that the 5 iridologists failed to correctly identify the sick people, confirming all the doubts concerning the real diagnostic power of iridology.
- In 2005, a group of researchers tested whether iridology could be a valid diagnostic tool for cancer.
For this test, the researchers selected 110 subjects, of which 68 had cancer and 42 had no cancer.
They then asked a professional iridologist, who knew nothing of the clinical history of the 110 selected individuals, and asked him to make a diagnosis based on the observation of the iris. To be precise, they invited him to indicate who was sick and who was not and what kind of cancer the sick had.
At the end of his evaluations, the iridologist drew up a list of patients and illnesses, which in no way coincided with the real situation.
In light of this, the researchers concluded that iridology is not a valid practice for the diagnosis of cancer.
CRITICAL
The medical-scientific community criticizes iridology, calling it a pseudoscience .
Most of the disputes against him are based on the fact that the iris is a stable phenotypic characteristic over a lifetime, so it does not change in relation to an affection in an organ or to a particular state of ill health.
WHY IS IT NOT RECOMMENDED?
Iridology critics - first and foremost doctors - advise against iridology by stating that:
- It is devoid of any diagnostic power;
- Uselessly removes time from those who submit themselves to it. Sessions with an iridologist can also be very long, as well as waiting times for an appointment;
- It represents a considerable expense. Those who practice iridology have rates that are not available to everyone.
