The Ontogenetic System

The Ontogenetic System is the Third Biological Law, and it is where German New Medicine becomes systematic rather than anecdotal. It organizes every organ and tissue in the body by its embryonic origin — its germ layer — and proposes that this origin determines three things at once.

First, which brain region controls the tissue. GNM pairs the endoderm with the brainstem, the old mesoderm with the cerebellum, the new mesoderm with the cerebral medulla, and the ectoderm with the cerebral cortex — the oldest tissues with the oldest brain regions, the newest with the newest.

Second, what the tissue does during conflict activity. Endodermal and old mesodermal tissues are said to add cells; new mesodermal and ectodermal tissues are said to lose cells, then rebuild during healing.

Third, which conflict themes apply. Archaic survival themes for the endoderm, attack and integrity themes for the old mesoderm, self-devaluation for the new mesoderm, and separation, territory, and identity for the ectoderm.

The practical consequence is that the system reads in both directions. Knowing the affected tissue tells you which brain region and conflict category to look at; knowing the conflict tells you which tissues to expect. An everyday example: a skin rash (ectoderm) and a growth in the intestinal lining (endoderm) follow opposite tissue patterns and trace to entirely different conflict themes, even though both might be called "disease."

That parallel between brain architecture and embryology is the backbone of the two-phase pattern as GNM applies it.

More in the Five Biological Laws explained and the GNM Scientific Chart guide.