Stephen Tyreman 1992. Concepts for Osteopathic Health Care, Section 4. General Systems Theory. BSO course notes (extracts)
Holistic thinking; the areas for consideration are not the constituent elements themselves, but their arrangements within the system and their relative significance as a clinical judgement. We are not so much concerned with objects such as the heart, disc, joints and ligaments, as we are in the way in which these various parts interact with each other.
Key distinction; reductionism examines the nature of ‘parts’; holism examines the relationship between ‘parts’.
Key Concept; Uniqueness lies in the arrangement of parts, not the parts themselves.
As medicine becomes more technological based, many people appear to have associated “scientific” with “impersonal”. Holism and its associations with alternative, is perceived as having an emphasis upon a concern for the ‘whole person’ rather than just ‘the bits’, though what is meant by that is not always clear.
Systems Theory
An important part of understanding systems theory is the hierarchical arrangement. The Universe itself is the ultimate system, or suprasystem. The components of a system are thus arranged into subsystems a hierarchical arrangement where any one system can be seen as part of a suprasystem and itself made up of subsystems.
Functions of a System:
- Containing: the boundaries of the system must be well established and selectively permeable, in order to maintain its separate identity and prevent entrance of undesirable or extraneous matter, energy, or information from the environment;
- The role of the skin,
- Obtaining: the system must have a means for obtaining the matter, energy or information essential for growth development and maintenance of its life;
- The role of the musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal system,
- Maintaining: the system must be able to retain and process what it needs to sustain life;
- The role of the neuro-endocrinal, circulatory and gastrointestinal systems,
- Disposing: a mechanism must be established to relinquishing a product and harmful or excess matter, energy and information;
- The role of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems,
The nervous system is involved in organizing and coordinating the subsystems.