How closely Hering’s Laws parallel what we now know as the earliest stages in intrauterine development, and thus uncannily foreshadowed the birth of the science of embryology that was still many decades away: 1) Hering’s First Law, from above downwards, corresponds to the apical dominance which develops very early in embryonic life, with the differentiation of cephalic and caudal poles (the head and tail end, respectively) from the central axis, with the former becoming dominant as the structure from which the brain and CNS develop. 2) Hering’s Second Law, from inside outwards, from cen- ter to periphery, corresponds to the formation of the proximo-distal gradient, followed by the endocrine glands, the parenchyma of visceral organs (heart, lungs, kidneys), the musculoskeletal system and con- nective tissues, and the skin and appendages, i.e., in the reverse order of the stages of suppression. 3) Hering’s Third Law, from more vital to less vital organ, follows the same sequence. 4) Hering’s Fourth Law, that symptoms reappear and dis- appear in the reverse order of their appearance in the life history of the patient, traces out the same sequence through time, the deeper and more recent symptoms disappearing before the more superfcial symptoms from longer ago.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 15:49:18 +0000