EC Ophthalmology

Iridology has been practiced for over a century and has recently attracted renewed attention in the era of complementary medicine. Iridology is a pseudoscientific method that examines the patterns, color, and other characteristics of the iris, the colorful portion of the eye, to diagnose health issues or identify potentially diseased or weak body parts. Numerous complementary therapists use it worldwide as an adjunct to conventional diagnostic procedures. Practitioners compare their findings to iris diagrams, which split the iris into zones corresponding to different human body areas. Iridologists see the eyes as "windows" into the body's health. Iridology practitioners assert that the iris analysis can identify underlying conflicts, inherited vulnerabilities, and physical and mental health conditions. However, medical science has repeatedly rejected, apparently without success, the notion that disorders in different body organs are reflected in the iris by the appearance of various signs and spots. Iris does not reflect changes during anesthesia due to the drugs' inhibiting effects on nerve impulses and in cases of organ removal. The results of the few well-controlled iridology studies indicate that the intervention is, at best, unreliable. Iridology supporters think their adversaries have a professional aversion to unconventional concepts and that future studies will establish the true significance of iridology. This article investigates, summarizes, and simplifies the understanding of iridology's use in noninvasive medical diagnosis.

Keywords: Complementary Medicine; Iridodiagnosis; Iris; Organ Removal; Unconventional Diagnosis

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