Issue #5

2000

An Interview with Prof. Dr. Christolph Letzel

Prof. Dr. Christolph Letzel studied medicine at the University of Rostock Medical School and Greifswald from 1954 to 1959. He became a professor at the University of Greifwald Medical School in 1975, and was director of the University of Greifswald Scientific Institute from 1966 to 1985. He has been the scientific advisor and Director of Clinical Studies for Pascoe GMBH since 1991.

Prof. Dr. Christolph Letzel spoke with Iridology Plus’s editor, Agota Csekey, about his thoughts on constitutional medicine and iris diagnosis/iridology.

Q: In North America, the practice and science of iridology is not widely accepted by medical doctors. It is very encouraging to see that you as a medical doctor collaborated with Prof. H.F. Herget on the book Constitutional Medicine (published by Pascoe) that discusses the iridology constitutions. What is your connection to iridology and have you ever practiced it?

Dr. L: First of all, what I tried to do in this book is to find a way for the general practitioner who is not in a position or is not experienced enough in iridology to enable them to practice constitutional medicine. I have known Prof. Herget for more than 30 years, he has vast experience in constitutional medicine and his son also works in the field of iridology. They have two major conferences in Geissen, Germany twice a year on this subject. There have been more than 50 conferences with several hundred participants where Prof. Herget and Hergert Jr. have done basic courses and advanced courses. There are many medical doctors who would love to practice constitutional medicine, but do not have the background and are not in the position to look at the iris and see what’s wrong and find a “recipe” for therapy.

I have never practiced iridology, however I know constitutional medicine and the possibilities of it. I wish that more doctors would look further into this area. Nevertheless, there is a way to get medical doctors interested in this area and that is through the HLA System (Human Lucasoid Antigen System). Through this system we can find genetic problems; if you compare it to a carpet, you have weaving errors in the carpet of the constitution.

Q: In your opinion should iridology be considered as a science?

Dr. L: Yes! I think iridology has reached a phase where it can claim to be a science and scientific. However, there are two points in iridology: [1] the question of the science of the iris and

[2] the question of the anatomy of the iris. Unfortunately, the anatomy of the iris (the relation of the organs/iris map) is the weakest point in the iris diagnosis. If you look at all the different schools that exist in the field; they all present different variations of the anatomy. I don’t think that the area of iris anatomy has reached a scientific level (that is my personal opinion and also the opinion of Prof. Herget). There are starting points existing already that would allow us to scientifically treat and look at the iris anatomy. There is a Prof. Vancouver in Moscow, who is working on developing a systematic method using a wide range of patients with various clinical diagnosis. He works very closely with many schools that teach iridology in Moscow and Germany. Furthermore, he also studies patients in Germany as well as in other countries. I think that his research as well as German scientists’ research in this area should largely clarify this matter. But, the signs of the iris are clear and based on the signs of the iris you can do therapeutic treatment for example for rheumatism and other conditions.

Q: Is the practice of iridology recognized and regulated by the German Government?

Dr. L: There is huge amounts of literature on iridology and homeopathic practitioners use this information best. The German government (supports) agrees to the therapy and the various methods to find the right therapy.

Q: What do you think is the greatest advantage of iridology?

Dr. L: Iridology/iris analysis will tell me where I have to look for the problem. This is where the iridologist is in a much better starting point than the traditional practitioner. The Iridologist should not concentrate only on the eye, but aside from the iris analysis he/she needs a precise clinical diagnosis. If you do without a diagnosis; it is very questionable. To give you an example, a microbiologist can give you the exact contents of the intestinal flora and can tell you exactly what it’s made up of and can also tell you that a certain form of bacteria appears in increased numbers. But, he/she can never do the diagnosis. I could give you 10 different causes for the increased amount of bacteria. What I can do is look at the iris and find a certain disposition and tendency, but I also need the clinical diagnosis and results for therapy.

Q: Can you envision in the future in North America, a situation where a medical doctor would request an iris analysis from an Iridologist to acquire more information about the patient’s tissue condition?

Dr. L: That’s definitely something that I can imagine. This is already being practiced in Germany and also at university clinics.

Q: Is iridology included in the curriculum of medical schools in Germany.

Dr. L: No it is not. Nonetheless, we are very lucky since 1993, the law states that natural medicine and homeopathy must be taught and included as a topic in the second state exam. However, the various universities do not teach natural medicine in a uniformed manner.

Q: In your opinion in the age of testing devices is iridology still relevant?

Dr. L: Yes most definitely! A vega machine allows you to discover some toxicosis and allows you to test what preparations the body will need. But, you can’t do without an iris analysis.

Q: Can you list a few of the important publications regarding iridology available today?

Dr. L: The leading person in all Germany would be Professor Herget and all others oriented themselves with Him.

Q:Do you think more publications and books such as Constitutional Medicine will help iridology gain acceptance and respect in North America?

Dr. L: Yes! However publications will not do it alone. We must provide concrete cases and there is where Professor Herget would be the ideal person to help. I am convinced of this because he has numerous case studies and can supply them for publication. It is only through individual cases and not through theory that Iridology will be able to advance.

Q: There is an Iridologists’ Association in Canada whose long term goal is to achieve professional recognition; what advice would you give to this association in order to achieve this goal?

Dr. L: The fight for regulation can only be fought if we have concrete facts; If this Association elects and gathers a large number of iridologists in order to make the traditional practitioners listen and to show them that Iridology is a method that can be used from a clinical perspective.

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