What is iridology? Some assert that the form of alternative medicine is questionable at best, but proponents for the approach suggest that iridology can offer excellent benefits. Those interested in learning about this complementary medicine can begin with its origins.

How Did Iridology Originate?
Ignatz Von Peczely developed iridology as a physician after having an experience with an owl as a young boy. Peczely lived during the 1800s, when little was known about the relationship between the various systems of the body. The incident with the owl involves changes he saw in the iris of an owl’s eye after it became injured.
Peczely caught the owl in his garden and broke its leg as it tried to struggle free. After the injury occurred, he noticed a black line in the owl’s eye that was later marked with white lines as the owl’s leg progressively healed over time. Later, he would grow to make a connection between changes in the human iris and an individual’s health.
The theory is that the tissues in the body have a direct effect on the iris of the eye. Changes in the body’s tissues lead to changes in the irises. The markings in the eye can help doctors detect inflammation, depending on their locations and characteristics.
Peczely developed the first iris chart relating the body’s tissues to markings in the iris. This chart has seen many revisions over the years but the premise is that markings in the iris can be related to other systems in the body.
About the Iris
The iris is the colorful area of the eye that sits between the pupil and the whites of the eye. Those who support iridology propose that this region shows the body’s functioning in the following realms:
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Constitution
• Healthiness
• Lifestyle
The iris’s main function is as a light filter that opens and closes the pupil using two muscles. The dilator muscle opens the pupil and the sphincter muscle makes the pupil smaller. When the pupil is smaller, the iris is larger.
Iridology suggests that the iris does far more than control the size of the pupil. The theory postulates that many diseases and developing health problems can be detected very early using this approach, allowing patients to take preventative measures to ensure good health in the future.
How Does Iridology Work?
There are thousands of nerve endings in the iris that correspond to various parts of the body. The nerve fibers experience visible changes when the tissues of the body are affected in some way. The process involves comparing the subject’s iris to an iridology chart. From this, the physician can determine:
• Strength or weakness of certain areas of the body
• Over-active sites
• Toxins
• Degeneration of organs or tissues
• Irritation
• Injuries
• Nutritional deficits
• Chemical imbalances
It is important to note that the correspondence is with organs and tissues of the body. Skeletal structures do not appear to be part of the iridology program. Skeletal problems may not be detected using this approach. However, this system may be worth exploring as a way of developing a plan of care that is preventative in nature.
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