Introduction to iridology

Historical Significance: Iridology or iridodiagnosis is a cult medical practice for which there is little or no scientific basis. It involves using the markings and configuration of the iris for the diagnosis of systemic illness. Despite having no scientific basis it is a remarkably persistent belief system. The first use of the word Augendiagnostik ("eye diagnosis," loosely translated as iridology) began with Ignaz von Peczely, a 19th-century Hungarian physician. Pastor Felke developed a form of homeopathy for treating specific illnesses and described new iris signs in the early 1900s. Iridology became better known in the United States through the writings of writings of Johannes Thiel, Eduard Lahn and J Haskell Kritzer and, later in the 1950s, of Bernard Jensen, an American chiropractor.