Summary Iridology may seem like a new concept to many, but the truth is that ideology is one of the earliest forms of diagnosis that was frequently used by physicians and other medical practitioners. Developed by a Hungarians physician by the name of Ignatz Peczely, iridology focused on the observation of the iris to map and evaluate the health of the rest of the animal and human body. This kind of treatment has then been referred to as homunculus approach with the idea that one part of the body can map to the rest of the body with an inclusion of the organ system. The iris has a unique ability to reveal and reflecting the changing conditions of other parts of the body if carefully observed. Further research revealed that all the parts of the …show more content…
The use of technology has in a significant way completely revolutionized the way iridology is practiced in the world today. However, despite being of great importance and benefit to some quarters of the medicine fraternity as well as some patients, iridology has its share of criticism. This assignment will focus on shedding light on the issues associated with iridology that makes it dangerous to be practiced both during formal and informal treatment of patients. Some of the notable points against this practice that will be elaborated in details throughout this paper include the fact that there is no research that proves that ideology worked and given the fact that there is no diagnosis conducted on a patient, a very serious illness may be …show more content…
Research shows that iridology does not show pregnancy of a woman considering that this I a normal and ordinary function of a woman body. Despite the fact that women are known to have complex body functions, pregnancy is normal and just like any other diagnosis technique; iridology should reveal when the woman is pregnant. Given the fact that iridologists believe that the iris can be like a screen that can show all other parts of the body, it should show any changes in the uterus which is a normal organ in a human body for the women. Immediately there is a change in the normal function or the status of the uterus; iridology should be in a position to reveal and show that the woman is pregnant. However, at no point has there been a successful case where iridologists have identified pregnancy in women prompting most individuals to doubts this technique. At some point in time, iridologists believed that they could tell the gender of the baby a woman is carrying, but this turned out to be another failure. Most of them believed that by looking at the lower part of the iris and identifying blood vessels that resemble fishhooks, they could tell whether the woman would get twins and their gender. Unfortunately, this turned to be wrong most of the times and made most people lose faith in this
In modern medicine when an ailment arises it can be quickly diagnosed, attributed to a precise bacteria, virus, or body system, and treated with medication, surgery or therapy. During the time before rational medical thought, this streamlined system of treatment was unheard of, and all complaints were attributed to the will of the multitude of commonly worshiped Greek gods (Greek Medicine 1). It was during the period of Greek rationalism that a perceptible change in thought was manifested in the attitudes towards treating disease. Ancient Greece is often associated with its many brilliant philosophers, and these great thinkers were some of the first innovators to make major developments in astrology, physics, math and even medicine. Among these academics was Hippocrates, one of the first e...
At the turn of the nineteenth century, medicine was hardly the enlightened profession it is today. Medical practices were often barbaric, employing methods that had been used for centuries, yielding little or no results and often killing the patient with a different affliction than the original ailment. Leeching (or blood letting), purgation, poor liquid diets, and cold water dousing were common practices as late as the 1850's. Even after newer, more effective methods of medical treatment had been introduced, many of the physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries hesitated to use them. Fearing the loss of their reputations, they hung on to superstitious beliefs, doubting the effectiveness of su...
The clinical gaze is a term derived from Michel Foucault’s The Birth of the Clinic. He explained that the clinical encounter changed drastically from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century and best described the new structure with the doctor asking the patient “Where does it hurt?” as opposed to previously asking the patient a question like “What is the matter with you?” He says that it was no longer considered necessary for doctors to listen to patients describe their experience of illness and their symptoms in order for the doctor to diagnose and treat them. Instead, doctors began to focus on the isolated, diseased organs, treating the patient as a body, a series of anatomical objects, and ignoring the social and personal realities of the patient. Furthermore, in the paradigm of the clinical gaze, physicians examine and talk about the patient’s diseases, while the patient usually remains silent. This can definitely be seen as the beginning of modern positivist science in which human, social, and historical contexts are considered completely irrelevant. (Holmes, pg.
Child is a gift from God. Every parent hopes for a healthy child. Abnormalities in the fetus growth have become common nowadays. These abnormalities may be due to physical, radiation and chemical factors. The most common factor is due to genetic mutation, which causes mental retardation, abnormal body buildup and other conditions, which bring a lot of troubles in the future to the child themselves and their parents. Modern technologies and innovations in the medical field had developed a method known as prenatal screening to detect the abnormality before birth and prevent this future tragedy to happen. It is screening for the detection of fetal diseases, usually by ultrasound examination or by testing the amniotic fluid obtained by amniocentesis (Williams & Wilkins, 2004). It is available to all pregnant women. Others screening techniques may include maternal serum, placental biopsy, and genetic test. There are several advantages and disadvantages of prenatal screening.
When a person gets sick, it meant their humors were out of balance. This theory was widely believed and used. Avicenna, an Arab physician, wrote one of the very first medical encyclopedias called the Canon of Medicine. As time went on, and as advanced medical knowledge from Islam was shared, people started questioning Galen’s theory. That is when a Swiss physician named Paracelsus discovered that disease comes from external factors.
The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.
Acupuncture, ayurveda, chiropractice, homeopathy, meditation, osteopathy, and yoga are just a few of the many types of medicine practiced all over the world. According to the western establishment, all these forms of medicine are called alternative medicines. However, some of the aforementioned techniques have been in continuous use for over six thousand years, predating western medicine by over four thousand years. Yet, still many M.D.'s reject alternative forms of medicine. One of the buzzwords in medicine in recent years has been "holistic medicine". Physicians are becoming more aware of the need to treat the whole patient rather than just certain symptoms. Due to this realization, a small percentage of doctors are turning to ancient forms of medicine as a guide to alternative treatments. As alternative forms of medicine emerge in the western world, Christian scientists need to determine the moral, religious, and scientific validity of such techniques in order to gain a more holistic approach to medicine.
The philosophy and practice is composed of many different systems of traditional medicine, which are all influenced by prevailing conditions, environment, and geographic area within, where it first evolved into WHO (2005). Although it is a common
Debra Honer RN, C. a. (2004, August 1). Modern Medicine. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from THe enigma of the Gypsy Patient: http://www.modernmedicine.com/modern-medicine/news/enigma-gypsy-patient
When acupuncture was created, some of the medical concepts it employed were relatively new; there were not many falsified stories for it to build off from. In fact, "acupuncture is said to have been theorized... by Shen Nung, the father of Chinese medicine, who also documented his theories on the heart, circulation, and pulse over 400 years before Europeans had any concept about them" (1). Since then, Europeans and Asians alike have encountered centuries of medical dilemmas and successes. Over time, hypotheses emerge and are either disproved or continue to live on as part of scientific discourse and medical practice. For this reason, most old-fashioned treatments no longer hold true when compared to methods cultivated within the great wealth of knowledge attributed to medicine today – not because we are smarter now or are more civilized, but because the field of medicine has accumulated so much more experience and has improved methods to be "less wrong" countless times. So, why has acup...
The main concern of the discipline of psychology in ancient times was the “[speculation of] the nature and locus of the mind, sensation and perception, memory, and learning”. There existed a strong connection between psychology and medicine, physiology, and neurology. The purpose of psychology, for the ancient physicians and philosophers, was to describe its procedures and demeanor in terms of science (e.g. medicine). In order to understand the emergence of psychology, the advances in medicine in these ancient cultures must be discussed. That way, one can see how psychology was linked to each one of them, in one way or the other.
Every year, approximately 230, 000 to 400. 00 deaths are caused by iatrogenic deaths ( in other words, these are deaths caused by wrong medical treatments). Two of the prominent yet some what contrasting types of medicine are, Ayurveda, the Indian traditional medicine, and Modern (aka western) medicine. Both of these have their own processes and methods of healing, which over the years have created their own followers. While Ayurveda addresses the root causes of the disease through identifying the imbalances in the elements, called “Doshas”, it also emphasizes on a spiritual lifestyle which for most people in today's world is a sea change. On the other hand, western medicine addresses the symptoms and provides instant albeit temporary relief for suffering. Needless to say there are more followers of the western medicine due to its immediate impact on subsiding the pain. Out of lack of awareness to the significance of traditional medicine, especially Ayurveda, many doctors and researchers are against the use of Ayurvedic and traditional medicines, which limits the potential of curing certain ailments of patients without additional side effects.
From the beginning of time, human life has faced problems with diseases and health care. Ancient ailments have been with mankind as far as man can remember, such as arthritis and, infectious bone disease found in fossilized bones and Egyptian mummies, indicating its existence. Then a human life span was only 20-30years, chronic illnesses were rare and preventative medicine primarily consisted of warding off evil spirits by painting the body or sometimes even mutilating it (Mitchell, Heroun 37). As time went on and new “tools” better described as “technology” is created and applied the everyday use in many ways. For example; in the 1600’s the invention of the printing press quickly allowed for new books and information to be widely distributed. By the 18th century progress increased due to the rapid sharing of knowledge from one to the next. With the knowledge of many experiments and studies came the philosophy of “enlightenment” witch took on a more rational approach to problems and knowledge that can be read (Mitchell, Heroun 39). the In the early 19th century preventive medicine made great strides as the average human lifespan increased from 40 years in 1850 to 70 years in1950. As advances were m...
Over the centuries, several treatment methods have been utilized by humans for remedy diseases when they caught. Two of them are modern medicine and traditional medicine. Traditional medicine, which is also called alternative treatment, is older than modern medicine. This effective treatment had been used for many centuries before modern medicine was found. On the contrary, modern medicine has been used since the 1900’s (Lyons). In this system, drugs’ tests are carefully done in the safe laboratories, and their side effects are identified before they are given to the patient. Moreover, the effects of the pills are written on the leaflets which are found in the drug packages to warn the patients for these effects. However, sometimes the side effects are not blocked, so people have to take another pill to get better. It makes people take more chemicals into their bodies. Even traditional medicine, give its place to the modern medicine when its beginning times, it is used efficaciously like modern medicine at the present time. In course of time, people will gain reliance on traditional medicine again, since alternative medicine is more efficient and powerful in order to get better and soothe the diseases than modern medicine. In fact, in traditional medicine, there are fewer drugs, side effects, holistic therapy that people can be availed.
In the early days most pregnant women would rely on their grandmother’s silly predictions or other old wives tales to predict whether their unborn baby was a boy or a girl. However, women had no way of knowing the sex of their baby until the actual moment of birth. The idea of gender determination has always been a challenge, and to this day one still cannot fully understand the concept of gender determination. However, with the use of modern day technology and much research, experts have found ways to determine the sex of unborn fetus.