| The definition of the word
repertory originates from the Latin word "repertoir,"
which means any store or stock, (e.g. of information), that can
be drawn upon. "Repertorium," in French and Latin, means
a catalogue or storehouse. Repertoire means a collection or an inventory
of capabilities (e. g. songs, plays, music. etc.). In homeopathy
the word "repertory" refers to books which are compiled
indexes of the Homeopathic and Herbal Materia Medicas.
Referring to his repertory,
J. T. Kent said, “It has been built from all sources, and is a compilation
of all the useful symptoms recorded in the fundamental works of
our Materia Medica, as well as from the notes of our ablest practitioners.”
There have been more than 110 different repertories published as
part of homeopathic literature during the last 170 years. The first
repertory was created by Samuel Hahnemann which he called a "Symptom
Dictionary." Later, Jahr and Boenninghausen compiled their
indexes to the homeopathic materia medica.
In modern terms, the repertory
represents the clinical and research database for
the practice of homeopathic medicine. The general information contained
in these books is derived from history, provings, clinical practice,
research, physiology and toxicology.
This edition was designed
to be a modern, practical and easy to use clinical guide to the
vast homeopathic materia medica. To achieve these goals, a redesigned
and upgraded repertory had to be compiled (including a new schema),
focusing on filling in the clinical deficiencies and correcting
the major flaws found in older repertories.
Historical Repertory Schemas
A schema is defined as a plan,
outline or diagram. In homeopathy, a schema comprises the basic
outline of headings and sub-headings used in our materia medicas
and repertories. Many variations have been tried throughout the
last 170 years. The most common historical schemas are represented
by the hierarchical and concordance approaches while the schema
used in this work is clinically focused and organized alphabetically.
1.Hierarchical/Anatomical/Theoretical - Boenninghausen, Boericke, Lippe, Kent,
Knerr.
2.
Concordance-Symptomatic - Allen, Clark, Gentry, Phatak.
3.
Alphabetical-Clinical - Murphy.
Hahnemann's schema offered
an outline for recording the information gathered from the experimental
provings of homeopathic remedies. This eventually became the schema
for his Materia Medica Pura. In its preface, Hahnemann describes
his schema (the first ever formulated) on pages 4-5. Hahnemann's
schema differed radically from Kent's later hierarchical organization.
It begins with Vertigo, goes through more than fifty sections, finally
ending with the Emotions and Mind, where subsequent schemas would
begin.
Kent’s Repertory is based on the assumption that all
cases should be analyzed from the general to the particular, from
the psychological to the physical. Kent saw his cases from one perspective
only; he was prejudiced even before he took a case! This perspective
helped to establish the modern homeopathic view that mental symptoms
are always more important than physical ones. We should remember
that particular symptoms (for instance: tumors, diseased organs
or wounds) can literary kill a person, which highlights the importance
of local symptoms in pathogical cases.
Dr. T. F. Allen addressed
this issue of whether our repertories should be organized in a hierarchical
order or a simple alphabetical one in his introduction to the Index
of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica. He states: “We
venture to hope that future standard works will present a new schema
free from theoretical ideas concerning the physiological action
of remedies, classifying our symptomatology in a form which will
permit ready reference and enabling numerous provings to be condensed.”
A natural hierarchy used for
case analysis should be based on several premises: first, what is
most life threatening to the patient; second, the causative factors
in the case, and finally, the most severe or important presenting
symptoms.
In homeopathic literature,
a fixed hierarchy is unnecessary because it goes against the individualization
of each case. The natural hierarchy in a healthy person is physiological,
while in a sick person, that natural order becomes deranged into
multiple, unpredictable patterns. We should not have preconceived
ideas about what should be important in a case because we should
perceive the unique hierarchy of each case.
 The
Homeopathic Clinical Repertory
After prolonged research and
experimentation with the old schemas, I decided to create a new
one that would facilitate access to rubrics at all levels in order
to provide clearer images of the anatomical, physiological and clinical
rubric groups. For example, all the lungs rubrics are in one place
instead of being spread throughout the chest chapter. This schema
allows an easy transition from particular to general chapters, and
vice versa. If a pain rubric cannot be found in its precise chapter
("Lungs," for instance), then go to a more general chapter
("Chest," in this case, but be aware that because these
rubrics are more general they also include heart pain.).
The Alphabetical Format
This repertory contains 74
chapters arranged in an alphabetical order. They were rearranged
and compiled from the original 36 chapters found in Kent’s Repertory.
The Homeopathic Clinical
Repertory was created to be more consistent with Hahnemann’s
anatomical and physiological categories and has been reorganized
into an alphabetical order. This schema was chosen as the most natural
organizational method for large amounts of information, bringing
this repertory into line with the homeopathic materia medicas.
The chapters in this book
are arranged alphabetically according to anatomy, physiology or
clinical topic. The rubrics and sub-rubrics contained in each chapter
are also sorted into an alphabetical format. This simplifies Kent’s
complicated system for arranging rubrics and sub-rubrics (by sides,
time, conditions, modalities, circumstances, extensions, locations,
etc.).
The Language of the Homeopathic Clinical Repertory
Using modern terminology is
paramount to the study and practice of homeopathy. The language
of the provings, materia medicas, therapeutic books and repertories
must reflect the culture in which one lives. If homeopathic provings
and the case taking protocols require us to record a person’s symptoms
in their own words, shouldn’t the repertory utilize a similar language?
Formating and Grading of Remedies
The formatting for The
Homeopathic Clinical Repertory is similar to Kent’s Repertory,
with the strongest remedies in the rubric or sub-rubric designated
in bold-capitals, CALC., (4 points), CALC., (3 points), next, bold-italics, calc.,
(2 points) and plain-type, calc., (1 point).
In general, if a remedy has
cured a symptom or condition more than three times and been confirmed
by more than three homeopaths, it deserves to be added to the repertory
in the first grade (1 point, plain type). If a remedy has
cured more than six times and likewise confirmed by three others,
it should be added in the second grade (2 points, bold-italics).
The third grade, (3 points, bold-capital), requires twelve
cases plus confirmations by three or more practitioners.
Other criteria for gradations:
(1) Remedy's Provings, the frequency and intensity of symptoms.
(2) Remedy's Toxicology. (3) Remedy's Cured Cases, symptoms and
diseases. (4) Remedy's Clinical Experience and Research. (5) Remedy's
History and Folklore.
Clinical and Pathological Rubrics
In the preface to his repertory,
Kent stated that “Physicians are requested to send in verified and
clinical symptoms, and to call attention to any errors which they
may discover in the text.” When referring to how his repertory was
compiled, Kent admitted that the rubrics came from three major sources:
previous repertories, the materia medica and notes from the ablest
practitioners of the time. These sources comprise the new rubrics,
remedy upgrades and additions when verified in homeopathic practice.
Hahnemann states throughout
The Organon that every homeopath must clearly perceive what
has to be cured in diseases, and to perceive the totality of symptoms
of the disease. He also refers to acute diseases, chronic diseases,
epidemic diseases, iatrogenic diseases, infectious diseases, mental
diseases, miasmatic diseases, physical diseases, traumatic diseases,
etc.
Therefore, modern homeopathic
repertories must include more clinical rubrics, particularly those
that reflect new diseases and conditions of our modern chemical-industrial
society, in addition to those caused by allopathic drugs, radiation,
chemotherapy, surgery, vaccinations, etc. (see the "Cancer,"
"Clinical," "Toxicity," and "Vaccinations,"
chapters).
The Need for a Modern Clinical Repertory
Kent stated in The
Homoeopathician, Journal for Pure Homoeopathy, No. 2, August 1912:
"Provings of remedies are not continued to the extent of producing
tissue alterations-indurations, infiltrations, suppuration, caries,
etc. Most of the indications for the use of remedies in these conditions
must be learned clinically, from the use of remedies in patients
when these conditions have developed. When a remedy has been prescribed
for a patient in whom tissue-changes have occurred, the prescription
being based on the symptom-image, resolution of the existing tissue-changes
has occurred as a result of the reaction to the remedy. These become
reliable clinical symptoms of the remedy: demonstrations of the
power of the remedy over the altered tissue. These remedies are
then recognized to be suited to constitutions in which these pathological
changes can develop. Hence they are as important to the prescriber
as though they had appeared actually in the proving."
"By reference
to the repertory the prescriber may find remedies which have thus
been established as suitable for suppuration, those suited for cancer,
those suited for tuberculosis, those related to apoplexy, etc.,
and as an intelligent prescriber, the physician should select a
remedy for the patient, similar to the condition of the ultimated
disorder. This is totally different from prescribing on the pathology
alone, or seeking a specific for the name of the ultimate, regardless
of the patient."
Dr. Shashi Kant Tiwari
writes in his book, The Essentials of Repertorization: "An
urgent and constant need was strongly felt by the professionals
for a repertory which could meet the pace of development of modern
pathology and internal medicine. This need was fairly and squarely
met by the emergence of Homeopathic Medical Repertory, (2nd edition)
authored by Robin Murphy, N.D."
"This is a unique
repertory, which helps a practitioner to find the simillimum on
the basis of clinical as well as classical symptoms. The author
has merged both the types of practice, i.e. classical and clinical".
"Murphy’s concept
of totality is based on clinical as well as classical homeopathic
practice. It embraces the principles of Kent’s generals, Boenninghausen’s
complete symptoms, Boger’s pathological generals and other stalwarts’
clinical principles of prescribing. This repertory can be used for
all types of cases:
1. Where mentals and generals
are prominent
2. Where clinical symptoms/diagnosis
is available
3. Pathological generals/constitutions
are available.
4. Where complete symptoms
are available.
5. Where the case has a paucity
of symptoms
Dr. Shashi Kant Tiwari,
is the Head of Dept. of Case taking and Repertorization and Principal,
of Father Muller’s Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Mangalore,
India.
# # #
Dr. Robin Murphy was born on August 15, 1950 in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1976 he entered the National College
of Naturopathic Medicine (NCMM) where he was awarded the Hahnemann
Scholarship for his Thesis: Homeopathy and Cancer. He directed the
homeopathy program at NCNM from 1980-1984. He also taught at Bastyr
University. He published the Homeopathic Medical Repertory in 1993
and the Lotus Materia Medica in 1996.
He has extensive teaching and clinical
experience including his years as chairman of the Homeopathic Department
at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland. Dr.
Murphy has lectured at the National Center for Homeopathy and at
colleges in Canada and England. He is now director of the Health
Academy of North America.
Dr. Murphy is presently the director
of the Lotus Medical Center, located in London, England, which sponsors
seminars on homeopathy and oriental medicine throughout the world.
Visit Dr. Muprhy at his Website: http://www.alchemilla.com/
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