Diagnostics

Today many people integrate both traditional and complementary or alternative medicine into their treatment programs for a variety of conditions. Some allergy sufferers, therefore, seek out complementary and alternative diagnostic tests. There are a variety of alternative diagnostic techniques which can aid in helping make a diagnosis regarding a particular medical condition. Golden Age of Microscopy For about sixty years, beginning with the work of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), there was an explosion of discoveries using the microscope. In the time before Pasteur, effective treatments and diagnostics for many diseases were discovered by trial and error. However, the real causes of the various diseases were unknown. The realization that these micro-organisms might actually be the cause of diseases (called 'Germ theory of Disease') was a difficult concept for many people to accept. It was believed for centuries, that any disease was actually a punishment for an individual's crimes and misdeeds. Sequence of Steps for Diagnostics The first proof that bacteria actually caused disease came from the work of Robert Koch in 1876. During the Golden Age of Microscopy, (see List; Brief history of Microscopy), the work of both Pasteur and Koch lead to the establishment of Microscopy as a viable science in the role of immunology. This became a significant factor in the prevention and cure of diseases. Robert Koch established a series of experimental steps. The steps taken during the observation of specific microbes enabled him to relate certain diseases to these microbes. The steps today are known as 'Koch's Postulates.' The groundwork laid during the Golden Age of Microscopy provided the basis for the new branches of medical research, technology, applications and the diagnostics being used during the Twentieth Century. Father of Microscopy Perhaps the father of modern live blood cell analysis was the German professor, Dr. Guenther Enderlein. During his 60 years of research, he made a number of important diagnostic discoveries using live blood cells. According to W. Burckmann, a German medical doctor, 'Dr. Enderlin's medications have repeatedly shown the condition of a patient with serious chronic diseases can be dramatically improved or cured.' Despite efforts to inform the medical community, most Americans have never heard of Dr. Enderlin's research to combat chronic illnesses. Doctors, practitioners and researchers in the Germany, Sweden and other European countries continue to apply his microscopic diagnostic procedures. Hope exists today for millions of people who suffer from chronic and life threatening illnesses, including cancers, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), multiple sclerosis and blood clots, [thrombosis], thanks to innovative research and the development of effective medications by the brilliant bacteriologist and zoologist Professor Guenther Enderlein. First Observations one of the most important discoveries in the history of biological and medical observation took place in 1665. An Englishman Robert Hook using a relatively crude microscope reported to the medical world something he considered important. His discovery was an observation of life's smallest structural units, or as he called them, 'little boxes' or 'cells.' This led Robert Hook to his conclusion, namely the theory that, 'All living things are composed of cells.' Although Hook's microscope was capable of showing protozoa and probably bacteria, he did not have the magnification technology that would have allowed him to see the microbial structures we can observe today.