THE MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM IN COMPARATIVE MATERIA MEDICA


Almost every extensive proving in Herings Guiding Symptoms points the way in periodicity, some remedies showing marked relationship to the time of day, as Spigelia, increasing and decreasing in aggravation as the sun rises and declines. “Lunacy” was not an idle term for periodic mental aggravations, and the homoeopathic physician is particularly fitted to meet such conditions.


The study of materia medica presents a problem for every student, so much so that he is at first almost bewildered by the multiplicity and the similarity of symptom pictures. It is only when he can grasp the whole picture and can differentiate one remedy picture from another, and evaluate the individual symptom of one remedy from a similar symptom of another remedy and the value and importance of one symptom over against another, and its value in one remedy over against its value in another remedy, that his capacity for applying the materia medica as an art becomes easy.

This capacity for differential diagnosis of one remedy above many similars represents the acme of the homoeopathic physicians skill. Some physicians are artists in this particular, and develop naturally the art of depicting symptom pictures. For others, the differential diagnoses and differentiations must depend upon the mathematical basis.

Mathematics, which is the mother of sciences, becomes of inestimable value in our consideration of the whole subject of materia medica. Mathematics is defined as “the science that treats of the measuring of quantities and the ascertainment of their properties and relations”; therefore therapeutics should be a subject where the measuring and ascertainment of properties and relations should be well considered. Therein lies the science of therapeutics; the art of therapeutics has to do with instinctively seeing the true reflection of the symptom picture in the remedy.

Each remedy in the materia medica reflects in its proving a distinct personality; but each remedy bears a strong resemblance to numerous other remedies. We may assume that the differences in personality are greater than the resemblances, but even so, many times we get groups of symptoms, symptom pictures, which reflect idiosyncrasies of several remedies. Repertorizing the case, with its mathematical precision, will often bring out a number of remedies which may be useful in the given case; the seeming adaptability of a number of remedies to a given group of symptoms is often dissipated by repertorizing the case.

It becomes more and more apparent that the evaluation should be obtained from a greater number of remedies. Nowhere has the process of evaluation been so perfected as in Boenninghausens repertories, and he was the first to work out the system of evaluation. Jahr, in his repertory (fourth edition), gives Boenninghausen the credit for pointing the way in evaluating symptoms, and copies it in his work. Kent used three numerical evaluations, while Boenninghausen used five, which divided the symptom-values more finely still.

Boenninghausen based his evaluation of symptoms on noting the number of provings in which a given symptom appeared. If this symptom appeared in practically every proving of the remedy, it was given the fifth, or highest, rating, and it was set in the corresponding type. If the symptom appeared in a large percentage of the provings, it was given the fourth rating; and so on down according to the number of times it appeared in the provings. If this symptom had been lessened demonstrably under the application of the remedy, these clinical findings were noted and had a bearing on the rating.

If, however, the symptom had not been found in the proving, but had been observed clinically only, that remedy would appear in the first degree, in ordinary type in parenthesis. For this reason, and because this degree appears much less frequently than the other ratings, many people consider that Boenninghausen uses but four grades of evaluation.

The work of perfecting and balancing these relative ratios of symptoms depends equally upon art and upon mathematical science.

There is possible a great variety of reflections of any remedy, just as one can stand at various angles before a mirror and get many varied reflections of their own features. The remedy most often reflected, because of its wide application to miasmatic conditions and its very thorough proving, is Sulphur. One might well say that it is not necessary to know when to prescribe Sulphur; the art of therapeutics lies in knowing when not to prescribe Sulphur. Its symptom picture reflects an image that is seen on a large percentage of the faces we meet; yet on mathematical consideration we often find other remedies which are more truly mirrored than Sulphur. To a marked degree this is true of all the polychrests.

One might consider a number of cases. For instance, prescribing pathologically, one would never consider. Rhus tox. as a remedy for an asthma case. However, as a case in point the following serves as a good illustration:.

A man came to me with a severe case of asthma, and I could elicit no symptoms save those pertaining to this complaint. As far as I could find out, he seemed to experience no symptoms save in these attacks. These usually came on in the fall; they were> after winter sets in; < change of temperature, especially on going out into the cold air; < cold air in general (in the fall); < evenings; < after midnight.

Working these out with Allens Boenninghausen, and taking the rubrics “Suffocative Attacks”, and “Symptoms Accompanying Respiration”, together with the aforementioned aggravations (seven symptoms in all), sixteen remedies were found to have six of the seven symptoms, those sixteen remedies being: Acon., Ars., Aur., Bry., Carbo veg., Caust., Chin., Graph., Lyc., Merc., Phos., Puls., Ran. bulb., Spong., Sulph., Verat. alb. Each one of them lacked, however, one vital symptom, and some of them had a low numerical totality. Arsenicum, on the other hand, had a high numerical totality of 30, but it lacked the autumn aggravation, which was the marked feature of the case.

Two remedies came through having every symptom, Nux vomica and Rhus tox., standing 7/25 and 7/28 respectively. My judgment would have been to choose the Nux vomica. The man was dark, and had seemed to me the few times I had seen him that he would be irascible in disposition, although he had never actually been so. Upon careful inquiry of his wife, I found that he was of an unusually even disposition, both in his work and at home; and other inquiries also ruling out Nux vomica, I turned to Rhus tox., which did excellent work.

Now we usually think of Rhus tox. in connection with rheumatic or eruptive conditions, yet here it fits with mathematical precision into an entirely different picture. While we as followers of Hahnemann lay considerable stress on prescribing for the symptoms rather than the disease condition, yet from experience we are very apt to associate certain conditions with certain remedies; it is therefore wise at times to regard the mathematical evaluation of the symptoms to check our tendency to give undue weight to the disease conditions in prescribing.

Here is another excellent illustration of the value of mathematical comparative materia medica:.

I was called in consultation to see a woman 86 years of age, who had been confined to her bed for some days. She had a thirstless fever, with dry mouth; she was mildly delirious, that is, she lay talking to herself of events that had occurred in her early life, but she could be roused to intelligent conversation by addressing her directly and clearly. Laboratory analysis had shown much albumin in the urine and many large casts.

As for her symptoms, she had a boring pain under the left shoulder blade, also in the right hypochondria; turning in bed < very much, but change of position >; > lying on back; < by touch but > by steady pressure; < evening; complained of a sore pain in the leg below the knee, and this also was greatly < on touch. Because of the pain in the right hypochondria, the < on motion and the desire to lie on her back she had been given Bryonia in varying potencies without relief; Lycopodium had also been given without satisfactory results; and her condition grew daily worse.

The physician in charge of the case was much interested in the diagnosis as he expected the woman would die very shortly and he had been unable to come to any satisfactory conclusion as to her trouble. The pathological diagnosis did not interest me greatly, but I was deeply interested in the remedy diagnosis, and because of my eagerness to strike the right remedy I took time to repertorize the case very thoroughly.

On the basis of fourteen symptoms as already given the results were as follows: Amm. mur., 12/29; Anac. 12/36; Ars. 12/38; Calc. carb. 12/40; Canth. 12/40; China 12/30; Conium 12/35; Kali carb. 12/40; Nat. mur. 12/41; Nit. ac. 12/39; Nux vom. 12/40; Phos. ac. 12/43; Plb. 12/39; Rhus 12/44; Sabad. 12/34; Sil. 12/48; Sulph. 12/46; Acon. 13/46; Merc. 13/45; Phos. 13/46; Puls. 13/59.

All of the remedies having thirteen out of the fourteen symptoms had albumin in the urine with the single exception of Pulsatilla; yet Pulsatilla covered every single symptom beside the one defined by laboratory diagnosis. Because it fitted so perfectly the other symptoms I gave Pulsatilla 200, after giving my decision to the attending physician. He confirmed my decision by mentioning that she had been very tearful at times. The result was all that could be desired. The temperature fell to nearly normal; the albumin and casts markedly fell until they all but disappeared; the patient was in a much more comfortable condition.

H.A. Roberts
Dr. H.A.Roberts (1868-1950) attended New York Homoeopathic Medical College and set up practrice in Brattleboro of Vermont (U.S.). He eventually moved to Connecticut where he practiced almost 50 years. Elected president of the Connecticut Homoeopathic Medical Society and subsequently President of The International Hahnemannian Association. His writings include Sensation As If and The Principles and Art of Cure by Homoeopathy.