[Iridology: a systematic review]

This study is a literature review about Iridology/Irisdiagnose in the period from 1970 to 2005. The objective was to identify the worldwide scientific publications (articles) in this field and the opinions about the method. Twenty-five articles were found, four of them from Brazilian authors. About the category, 1 was literature review, 12 research studies and 12 updates, historical reviews or editorials. The countries that have contributed more with the studies were Brazil and Russia. Fifteen of those are in favor of the method and 10 are against it. In conclusion, it is necessary to develop more studies inside the methodological rigor, once Iridology brings hope to preventive medicine.