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Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosis〔Cline D; Hofstetter HW; Griffin JR. ''Dictionary of Visual Science''. 4th ed. Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston 1997. ISBN 0-7506-9895-0〕 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〔 and is widely considered pseudoscience. 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. In 1979, Bernard Jensen, a leading American iridologist, and two other iridology proponents 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, forty-eight had been diagnosed with kidney disease, and the rest had normal kidney function. Based on their analysis of the patient's irises, the three iridologists could not detect which patients had kidney disease and which did not. ==Methods== 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."〔Jensen B; "''Iridology Simplified''". 2nd ed., Escondido 1980.〕 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.〔 (See section on Scientific research.) For example, ''acute inflammatory'', ''chronic inflammatory'' and ''catarrhal'' signs may indicate involvement, maintenance, or healing of corresponding distant tissues, respectively. Other features that iridologists look for are ''contraction rings'' and ''Klumpenzellen'', which may indicate various other health conditions, as interpreted in context. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「iridology」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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