Sarcognomy

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Sarcognomy

A term coined by J. Rhodes Buchanan, pioneer writer on psychometry, to denote a therapeutic science of the relationship between body and brain. He advanced the ideas that the whole body is expressive; that the entire form is an embodiment of character; that each part of the evolving surface not only possesses a physiological characteristic but also psychological powers; and that each portion of this cutaneous surface exercises, through the nervous system, a direct action upon some particular part of the brain. Buchanan believed that understanding these relationships could have great value in the treatment of disease.