Emunctorology: Synthesising Traditional Naturopathic Practice with Modern Science

Thom Kruzel, ND;  Stephen Myers, PhD, BMed, ND;  Pamela Snider, ND;  Jared Zeff, ND, LAc

The concept of the emunctories, the organs of elimination, has been a component of traditional medicine since the Greco-Roman Period. The concept has been incorporated into traditional medicine practices throughout our recorded history, up to and including modern naturopathic medicine. The conception of Emmuctorology is much more recent and took place at the First International Editorial Skamania Retreat of the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project in 2007.1 Specifically, it arose in a breakout group of educators discussing the limitations of teaching the classical body systems relied on by conventional medicine. There was a general consensus that multi-system synthesis, such as psycho-neuro-immunology, was more representative of the naturopathic approach to the human body and made it easier to both teach and learn. During this discussion, Emunctorology was born, a multi-organ synthesis of the naturopathic approach to elimination synthesized with modern clinical and basic science. At the end of the discussion, the idea ignited in the larger plenary group when the break-out group reported. Within weeks a sponsor provided an untethered academic grant to develop an educational program which has now been taught in a number of North American Universities. It is obviously an idea whose time has come.

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