Editing Iridology (section)

==Criticism==
Scientists dismiss iridology given that published studies have indicated a lack of success for its claims. To date, [[scientific method|clinical data]] does not support a correlation between illness in the body and coinciding observable changes in the iris. In controlled experiments, practitioners of iridology have performed statistically no better than chance in determining the presence of a disease or condition solely through observation of the iris.<ref name="Ernst">{{cite journal |doi=10.1001/archopht.118.1.120 |title=Iridology: Not Useful and Potentially Harmful |year=2000 |last1=Ernst |first1=E. |journal=Archives of Ophthalmology |volume=118 |pages=120–1 |pmid=10636425 |issue=1 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[James Randi]] notes that iridology is [[Falsifiability|unfalsifiable]] because iridologists do not provide a distinction between current physical defects and "future" defects; thus, the iridologist cannot be proven wrong.<ref name="randi-1995">{{Cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=[[An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural|An encyclopedia of claims, frauds, and hoaxes of the occult and supernatural: decidedly sceptical definitions of alternative realities]] |date=1995 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=978-0-312-15119-5 |location=New York, NY|author-link=James Randi}}</ref>

Iridology is based on a premise that is at odds with the fact that the iris does not undergo substantial changes in an individual's life. Iris texture is a [[phenotypical]] feature that develops during [[gestation]] and remains unchanged after infancy. There is no evidence for changes in the iris pattern other than variations in pigmentation in the first years of life and variations caused by [[glaucoma]] treatment. The stability of iris structures is the foundation of the [[biometric]] technology, which uses [[iris recognition]] for identification purposes.<ref name="Chellappaedited" /><ref name="Pankantiedited" />