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In [[Anthroposophic medicine]], the '''Etheric body''' or Life body is the body of formative forces responsible for life. In nature there are etheric forces that are not part of a specific organism (though the idea that the earth itself possesses an etheric body has been also extrapolated in more contemporary science such as in Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kirchner|first=James W.|date=May 1989|title=The Gaia hypothesis: Can it be tested?|url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/RG027i002p00223|journal=Reviews of Geophysics|volume=27|issue=2|pages=223-235|doi=10.1029/RG027i002p00223|via=}}</ref>). In living organisms such as plants, animals and humans, these etheric forces are organized into an independent body, though not a body in the physical meaning of the word<ref>{{Cite web|last=Girke|first=Matthias|last2=Soldner|first2=Georg|date=22 October 2018|title=The Fourfold Human Constitution; The life organization|url=https://www.anthromedics.org/BAS-0347-EN#list-sections-2|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=[[Anthromedics]]}}</ref>. The etheric body is responsible for vitality, reproduction, regeneration and also the faculty of memory.  

In [[Anthroposophic medicine]], the '''Etheric body''' or Life body is the body of formative forces responsible for life. In nature there are etheric forces that are not part of a specific organism (though the idea that the earth itself possesses an etheric body has been also extrapolated in more contemporary science such as in Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis<ref name="Kirchner">{{Cite journal|last=Kirchner|first=James W.|date=May 1989|title=The Gaia hypothesis: Can it be tested?|url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/RG027i002p00223|journal=Reviews of Geophysics|volume=27|issue=2|pages=223-235|doi=10.1029/RG027i002p00223|via=}}</ref>). In living organisms such as plants, animals and humans, these etheric forces are organized into an independent body, though not a body in the physical meaning of the word<ref>{{Cite web|last=Girke|first=Matthias|last2=Soldner|first2=Georg|date=22 October 2018|title=The Fourfold Human Constitution; The life organization|url=https://www.anthromedics.org/BAS-0347-EN#list-sections-2|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=[[Anthromedics]]}}</ref>. The etheric body is responsible for vitality, reproduction, regeneration and also the faculty of memory.  

====Attributes of the Etheric Body====

====Attributes of the Etheric Body====

[[File:Fig leaf.jpg|left|thumb|A leaf such as this fig leaf<ref>https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/RG027i002p00223</ref> has a form created by varying degrees of growth (signatures of the etheric body of the fig tree) at the three prominences of its leaf. Apoptosis (a signature of the astral body) is absent as a sculpting force in plant development.<ref>https://www.anthromedics.org/BAS-0347-EN#list-sections-2</ref> ]]

[[File:Fig leaf.jpg|left|thumb|A leaf such as this fig leaf<ref name="Kirchner"></ref> has a form created by varying degrees of growth (signatures of the etheric body of the fig tree) at the three prominences of its leaf. Apoptosis (a signature of the astral body) is absent as a sculpting force in plant development.<ref>https://www.anthromedics.org/BAS-0347-EN#list-sections-2</ref> ]]

[[File:Human Hand.jpg|thumb|A human hand is developed by a delicate balance between the processes of growth (brought about by the etheric body) and the processes of apoptosis (brought about by the influence of the astral body). A webbed hand or a ray deformity will result when these processes do not occur harmoniously.]]

[[File:Human Hand.jpg|thumb|A human hand is developed by a delicate balance between the processes of growth (brought about by the etheric body) and the processes of apoptosis (brought about by the influence of the astral body). A webbed hand or a ray deformity will result when these processes do not occur harmoniously.]]

In lower organisms there are no other embodied spiritual bodies (such as the [[Astral body|astral body]] or [[I]]) though these forces relate from the outside- in plants growth rhythms are regulated by planetary influences. One remarkable difference between plants and animal form development is the lack of [[apoptosis]] (programmed cell death) in plant forms. In animals and humans apoptosis is essential for development and improper coordination of this results in birth defects<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8801138</ref>.  

In lower organisms there are no other embodied spiritual bodies (such as the [[Astral body|astral body]] or [[I]]) though these forces relate from the outside- in plants growth rhythms are regulated by planetary influences. One remarkable difference between plants and animal form development is the lack of [[apoptosis]] (programmed cell death) in plant forms. In animals and humans apoptosis is essential for development and improper coordination of this results in birth defects<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8801138</ref>.