A theory of Friedrich Mesmer which stated that hysterical disorders are caused by a universal magnetic fluid in the body.
According to physician Franz Anton Mesmer, the force permeating all animal life, including human. It is the mechanism by which hypnotism acts. The idea that there is some substance or held of force that runs through all nature has been (and still is) very widespread. Although in this form it is a 19th-century Western idea, its essence is found in many other cultures across time and place; for example, the Chinese yin and yang, the constituents of qi, are very similar. The idea was taken up by Mary Baker Eddy and, in an adapted form called malicious animal magnetism, was incorporated into Christian Science.
The term coined by Mesmer to describe a capability that allows one to induce hypnosis.