Іріс арқылы денсаулықты анықтау тәсілі

Alternative medicine technique

Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosis or iridiagnosis) is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about a patient's systemic health. Practitioners match their observations to iris charts, which divide the iris into zones that correspond to specific parts of the human body. Iridologists see the eyes as "windows" into the body's state of health. Iridologists claim they can use the charts to distinguish between healthy systems and organs in the body and those that are overactive, inflamed, or distressed. Iridologists claim this information demonstrates a patient's susceptibility towards certain illnesses, reflects past medical problems, or predicts later health problems. As opposed to evidence based medicine, iridology is not supported by quality research studies The features of the iris are one of the most stable features on the human body throughout life. The stability of iris structures is the foundation of the biometric technology which uses iris recognition for identification purposes.

Iridologists generally use equipment such as a flashlight and magnifying glass, cameras or slit lamp microscopes to examine a patient's irises for tissue changes, as well as features such as specific pigment patterns and irregular stromal architecture. The markings and patterns are compared to an iris chart that correlates zones of the iris with parts of the body. Typical charts divide the iris into approximately 80–90 zones. For example, the zone corresponding to the kidney is in the lower part of the iris, just before 6 o'clock. There are minor variations between charts' associations between body parts and areas of the iris. According to iridologists, details in the iris reflect changes in the tissues of the corresponding body organs. One prominent practitioner, Bernard Jensen, described it thus: "Nerve fibers in the iris respond to changes in body tissues by manifesting a reflex physiology that corresponds to specific tissue changes and locations." This would mean that a bodily condition translates to a noticeable change in the appearance of the iris, but this has been disproven through many studies. The first explicit description of iridological principles such as homolaterality (without using the word iridology) are found in Chiromatica Medica, a famous work published in 1665 and reprinted in 1670 and 1691 by Philippus Meyeus (Philip Meyen von Coburg). The first use of the word Augendiagnostik ("eye diagnosis", loosely translated as iridology) began with Ignaz von Peczely, a 19th century Hungarian physician who is recognised as its founding father. The most common story is that he got the idea for this diagnostic tool after seeing similar streaks in the eyes of a man he was treating for a broken leg and the eyes of an owl whose leg von Peczely had broken many years before. At the First International Iridological Congress, Ignaz von Peczely's nephew, August von Peczely, dismissed this myth as apocryphal, and maintained that such claims were irreproducible. The second 'father' to iridology is thought to be Nils Liljequist from Sweden, who greatly suffered from the outgrowth of his lymph nodes. After a round of medication made from iodine and quinine, he observed many differences in the colour of his iris. This observation inspired him to create and publish an atlas in 1893, which contained 258 black and white illustrations and 12 colour illustrations of the iris, known as the Diagnosis of the Eye. Jensen emphasized the importance of the body's exposure to toxins, and the use of natural foods as detoxifiers. In 1979, in collaboration with two other iridologists, Jensen failed to establish the basis of their practice when they examined photographs of the eyes of 143 patients in an attempt to determine which ones had kidney impairments. Of the patients, 48 had been diagnosed with kidney disease, and the rest had normal kidney function. Based on their analysis of the patients' irises, the three iridologists could not detect which patients had kidney disease and which did not.

In Canada and the United States, iridology is not regulated or licensed by any governmental agency. Numerous organizations offer certification courses.

Medical errors—treatment for conditions diagnosed via this method which do not actually exist (false positive result) or a false sense of security when a serious condition is not diagnosed by this method (false negative result)—could lead to improper or delayed treatment and even loss of life.