Animal Magnetism; A Mesmerizing Yet Controversial Past of Healing Sciences

Background: Animal magnetism gained popularity in the 18th century specifically among Europeans and the people from the United States. The Mesmer’s theory on animal magnetism emphasized the presence of invisible natural force in all living organisms i.e. these natural forces exists as magnetic fluid whose abnormal flow was somehow linked to all diseased conditions. Methodology: The article tracks the history and the modern concept of animal magnetism. The literature was searched using the terms Mesmerism, Animal Magnetism, Healing, and French trials, etc. via Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate, and Scopus. Results: Mesmer drew the idea in line with scientific advances involving forces; gravity, electricity, and magnetism, etc. Although the magnetic fluid component presumed by his theory didn’t work out so well. But his theory marked the beginnings of some very factual and clinically beneficial aspects like hypnosis and healing outcomes. Conclusion: In conclusion, the popular report which was chaired by Franklin, was the main deliberate investigation of what we currently know as hypnosis. While modern-day hypnosis has earned the approval because its effects have been statistically proven in several controlled trials.


Introduction
In the 18 th century, Franz Mesmer explained Lebensmagnetismus as invisible natural energy possessed by all living organisms including animals, plants, and humans that according to him might have bodily effects specifically healing 1 . The use of a magnetic body progressed into the practice of a healthy individual placing hands over a non-healthy individual to reorder "magnetic fluid" and twitch out any illness. The practices of Mesmer gained fame in Europe, and his claims were supported by prominent individuals but still, conventional therapeutic experts spurned Mesmer and his therapy. Mesmer explicated the phenomenon of animal magnetism based on the belief that the magnetic fluid flows through organisms, Mesmer called for a cogent method for his work and established his theory of universal fluid from Isaac Newton's electromagnetic aether and laws of attraction, providing his effort scientific credibility. He also believed that any illness is caused by the uneven distribution of magnetic fluid in the sufferer's body or obstruction of the fluid's natural flow. With that in mind, he believed that health could be restored if the fluid were unblocked. That can be done by controlling the magnetic flow in these people. Initially, he used magnets for the healing processes after the patient had swallowed iron filings 2,3 . Later, he gives out with magnets and used his hands, a wand or an iron rod to control the magnetic fluid through his patients' bodies for clearing the blockage inside and restore the normal fluidity. After getting magnetized by Mesmer and a few disciples owning unusually strong magnetism, the distressed fell into sleep or dreamy state, frequently followed by a catastrophe in which they would faint or have convulsions. When his patients recovered from these crises, they appeared to be cured of their ailments with flow re-established in the body.
Showing the Magnetism as Mesmer is working on Parisian women settled on his wooden tub filled with iron filings and water Mesmer claimed that Magnetism could heal various neurological illnesses like headaches and epilepsy, as he assumed that the animal magnetism intimated into the nerves and treated nervous disorders. The treatments were done in a hazy room and Piano to play music sometimes with supplementary sounds and voices. Patients sat in rows around a circular vat, with one of the metal rods given to each person to apply directly to the distressed part of the body. The amalgamation of music, light and solicitations from Mesmer resulted in a form of hypnotism that has been known as mesmerism.
Mesmer's procedure was influential enough to cause some patients to go into seizures and lose consciousness. Although he achieved notable outcomes with numerous of his patients and enthused a lot of followers later, it was followed by controversy 4 .
Mesmer referred proclamations of his philosophies on animal magnetism to conventional academies of science in Europe and other selected scientists for their expert comments 2 . However, he only received a response from Berlin Academy that was also very indifferent, stated that Mesmer's declarations about magnetic effects to be transferred to materials other than iron are contradicting to all previous experiments and his evidence-based on "the sensations of a person suffering from convulsions" was stated as inappropriate for evidencing the reality of the claimed animal magnetism. Moreover, with the truancy of visible effects in healthy individuals the report of "animal magnetism" was listed as highly questionable, and parallel explanations were demanded. The Academy alleged Mesmer for fallen into the misconception of certain things as grounds that were not original. Anton Mesmer was questioned not because of the efficacy of his treatment, rather due to the benefit that did not happen as an outcome of the specific elements or through the definite physicochemical processes 5 14 . Soon after that, Esdaile in 1846 who was a British surgeon, introduced the therapeutic effects of mesmerism that he practiced in British India on a prisoner with a double hydrocele. He claimed that the hydroceles were removed without discomfort or postoperative pain and the curative course was momentously accelerated. Over the next two years, he performed over 3,000 procedures using the mesmeric process that induced anesthesia. He reported a reduction in postsurgery mortality rate as well. His operations included cataract removals, amputations, orthopedic procedures and tumor removal using mesmerism as the only anesthetic proxy. Esdaile's technique varied the mesmeric orientations, in terms of not using any groundwork, customary, and no voiced/sound communication between mesmerist and sufferer 15 .
The vitalist philosophy fascinated many cliques in the United States and Europe in the 19 th century. Specialists were commonly known as magnetizers rather than mesmerists. It remains as an imperative line of therapy in medicine as long as 75 years since 1779, and impact for another 50 years. Hundreds of books were written on the subject between 1766 and 1925, but it is almost entirely forgotten today. Mesmerism is still in practice as alternative medicine in several regions exclusive of magnetism as a practicing medical science 16 .
Opponents of mesmerism had declared that the process was not really in the true sense and there was not any existing mysterious energy outside of the body but simply an imaginative force dependent on the ordinary workings of the mind. Mesmerism was considered as an example of human imaginative powers, as all the subjects under the effect of mesmerism were the result of powerful imaginations not of any prevalent fluid or power 16 . The clearest change between Mesmer's animal magnetism and contemporary therapeutic hypnosis was signified by James Braid in 1843, who created the term hypnosis by recognizing that most methods of mesmerism at that time involved the production of a sleep-like condition. Braid and fellows recognized definite psychological phenomena of interest but required much more systematic investigation to understand 17 .
Though Franklin commission and Haygarth had differences in opinions about actual and placebo or no treatment there was an evident lack of statistical valuation of their conclusions. The necessary piece of information for modern medical research came around 1919, when the English mathematician, Sir Ronald Fisher, improved Franklin's controlled protocol with the conception of randomization and designs of probability. He claimed that subjects be randomly allocated to a control or cure group to validate statistical comparisons among the 2 groups to a certain level of confidence. Thus, Fisher is known to present the concluding step in creating an up-to-date method of validating the advantage of a specific treatment 18

Conclusion
In conclusion, the popular report which was chaired by Franklin was the main deliberate investigation of what we currently know as hypnosis. Although Franklin realized that belief and hope had compelling healing outcomes, he did not want to make it in public without any demonstrable scientific basis. Modern-day hypnosis has earned the approval because it was statistically proven in controlled trials and placed in level 5 as per the Association of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB) Efficacy Criteria.

Conflicts of Interest
None.