EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND GUT
While this article cannot describe the whole science of Iridology since this needs a book by itself, it does explain why or how health and disease begin in the colon and the embryonic association between the gut and other organs of the body. Long before science discovered our intestine functioning as our second brain, I personally noticed that particular patients with nervous disorders had a connection between the intestine and the brain. This is why we also say that iridology can access reflex disease, where one organ can disturb the other. Plus, this is why Iridology is a holistic check-up and belongs to Holistic Medicine.
All the organs of our body are formed from the 3 layers of embryonic tissue called the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. The gut and other internal organs like the liver, pancreas, heart, lung, bladder, and kidney are made from the same embryonic tissue as the endoderm. This also keeps a link with the nervous system and brain that comes from the ectoderm.
The position of the body's organs in the iris chart corresponds exactly to the same position of the body's organ development in the embryo (See my book for more details). To elaborate further, while in the embryo, the nervous system is developed right along-side the gut. It is called the spinal nervous system or notochord. The anatomical position of the gut is located right in the middle of the embryo and the central nervous system brain is located on the top exactly as shown in the iris topography in figure 5. The spinal cord has little branches that go almost everywhere in the body, extending to the organs, including the gut where it maintains a close relationship. At 8 weeks after conception, internal organ buds are beginning to form along the gut, extending as they develop, to feed them (See figures 3 and 4).
Therefore, we have an embryologic relationship between the gut and the internal organs made from the same tissue and a relationship between the gut, the nervous system, and the brain. This is what the iris can show you since by referring to the iris chart you realize that the organs are situated according to their position in the embryo (see figures 3, 4). In placing the embryo outline over the iris chart, we see the areas of the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm developed as they are found in the embryo and relate to the location of the various organs and body structures. Now, if where the liver buds the colon tissue is weak, you probably have a bad liver, and the iris will show some specific signs. Since the beginning of my practice, I always observed the colon area first and then around what is called the collarette or the autonomic nervous system that emerges from the primitive gut during the development of the embryo. This represents our nervous, physical and emotional constitution and it's relation with the colon itself, the liver, and pancreas.
The collarette or the sympathetic nervous system is one important landmark located about a third of the way from the pupil area and the colon. It is considered to be one of our most important structures in the entire body. The collarette work like a telephone switchboard with lines connected with each organ. The collarette is part of the early development of the nervous system in the embryo and is considered a vital landmark in iris observation. It provides information on the genetic response of the nervous system, gut integrity, and the reflex action of the ciliary zone. The difference in collarette structure that goes all around the colon can indicate a generally good hereditary status or can appear contracted, restricted, in a zig-zag pattern, or even distended. This is indicative of our nervous constitution, our hereditary status of emotional and physical condition. This observation of the colon and collarette is crucial.