Talk:Iridology

For past talk:
Talk:Iridology/archive1 (3 Apr 2003 - 22 Jan 2004)
Talk:Iridology/archive2 (22 Jan 2004 - 25 Jan 2004)
Talk:Iridology/archive2 (25 Jan 2004 - 10 Feb 2004)

Baffled by the image caption

I have tried to decipher this caption several times and must confess to being baffled:

The iris is the only living tissue of humans always visible naturally, with eyes wide open.

What, pray tell, does this mean? I generally am able to see many bits of living tissue, of both my own and others, in addition to the iris. For example, there is the living tissue on my hands. Am I missing the point entirely? --Delirium 12:58, Feb 8, 2004 (UTC)

I believe this refers to the fact that the outermost layers of skin are composed of dead cells. Living skin cells are underneath these dead cells, and are therefore not visible. Similarly, the other visible parts of the eye - the cornea and the white sclera - are either composed of or covered with dead cells. - MykReeve 19:32, 8 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Yes - but we could remove the "with eyes wide open" phrase, which rings oddly against ears wide open. (Is the page still protected?) DavidWBrooks 20:11, 10 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Agreed. By the same token, the word "always" could be removed too - because eyes are not always open, and I can't think of other living tissue which is "visible naturally" only part of the time. Looks as though the page is still protected. - MykReeve 21:47, 10 Feb 2004 (UTC)