A Study of Kent’s Repertory by Margaret Tyler

Dr Aji Punnen

Introduction
The author  of  the book “ A study of Kent’s Repertory”  is Dr. Margaret Tyler. The book used for review is a reprint edition in 2002. The Price of the book is    Rs. 10.  The  book  is published by B.jain publishers.

Margaret Lucy Tyler was born in 1857.She was a graduate of both Edinburgh & Brussels universities. She worked at the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital for forty years. Her speciality was in treating the mentally backward children.

Other works

• Acute Conditions, Injuries
• Different ways of Finding the Remedy
• Drosera
• Hahnemann’s Conception of Chronic Disease, as caused by Parasitic Micro-Organisms
• Pointers to the Common Remedies
• Repertorising

Dr. Tyler acknowledges Dr.R. Gibson Miller, Dr. Weir, Dr. Borland . ( The book is reproduced from their lectures ) 

Initiation is necessary to study or to use kent’s Repertory. It’s scheme or arrangement  must  be mastered as a first step.  If  it’s scheme is mastered we can reach to what we want from Kent’s Repertory.

To use Repertory as a habitual guide in prescribing knowledge of arrangement , grading of symptoms is necessary.

What we want to find from Kent’s Repertory
Repertory is used to find the Homoeopathic remedy.  Homoeopathic remedy is always that drug which in it’s pathogenesis exhibits the morbid symptoms of patient. Symptoms of the patient are not necessarily the symptoms of the disease for which the patient consults us.

According to Hahnemann Physician must realize that he is not concerned with the disease but with sick persons. In the patient we must see a person or individual who deviates from the  normal of the race & from his own normal.

It is very unlikely to find the curative remedy by hunting Repertory & Materia Medica with the nane of the disease  as the drugs are not pushed far enough to produce pathological lesions.

The Curative remedy is the remedy that corresponds to the sick person, body & soul and more especially soul.The remedy should correspond his symptoms ie symptoms inherent in himself not dependent on pathological lesions.

Symptoms dependent on mechanical cause  do not express the patient & are useless in the selection of curative drug. Prescribing on such symptoms  lead to the exhibition of palliative remedy.

• Stiffness in ankylosis
• Dyspnoea with enlarged thyroid
• Frequency of micturition with a morbid growth impacted in pelvis

Always examine the patient before using repertory. Peculiar characteristic symptoms must not be secondary to any disease.Symptoms dependent on gross lesions must be discarded.We cannot eliminate symptoms dependent on disease which we have not diagnosed.

Common symptoms are of two types

• common to a disease
• common to enormous amount of drugs

Common symptoms  are useless in the selection of the remedy

• Thirst with fever

To use in the prescription common symptoms must be qualified

• Thirst at particular hour, or only during cold stage or for large quantities or small
• Thirstlessness during the period of high temperature
• Raging thirst with no desire to drink

Common & useless symptoms can be thus transformed in to general

Grading of  symptoms
According to Kent mental symptoms are of first grade & if marked they dominate the case. If the mental trait is marked & especially it denotes change from the patients normal, is of utmost importance to the case. It should be same type in patient & in rubric ie only remedies in the higher types are likely to fit the case.

We cannot use it as a eliminating symptom if ti is not marked.

If the rubric is small take a large rubric of same trait with it.

According to Kent  “ When you have taken the case on paper you must settle up on the symptoms that cannot be omitted in each individual”

With the strong eliminating mental symptom  ie “the heart of the Patient’s heart” we can go through the rubric of the patients symptoms in the order of hierarchy ( Mentals, Generals, particulars with modalities )

To eliminate with safety symptoms taken must be real, marked & must actually express the patient.

Mentals

1. 1.     Will —  loves, hates, suspicions, fears

• Women hates her child
• Jealousy
• Fear of disease
• Fear of solitude

1. Understandings – delusion, delirium, loss of the sense of proportion / perception, exaltation of trifles, delusions of grandeur or persecution

3.Memory 

Strange, rare & peculiar
According to kent Strange rare & peculiar are among the highest generals as they apply to the patient himself. These symptoms must take highest place in the search for remedy but a place depending on their grade.

• Peculiar mental will rank higher than peculiar local symptom.

It can occur among mentals, generals or particulars & therefore is of varying importance & rank

Peculiar symptoms mostly contain one or two drugs only. They must be written down high on the list but must be used with care. According to Kent “the great trouble with key notes is that they are misused. The keynotes are often characteristic symptoms ; but if the keynotes are taken as final & the generals do not confirm, then will come the failures”

Physical

• a) Sexual perversions’ (loves & hates), desires & aversions for food, hot & cold food & drinks, appetite, thirst
• b) Physical generals

Reaction to heat & cold, to time, damp, dry, electricity, oxygen, carbon dioxide, menstruation, position, gravitation, pressure , motion, train sickness, food aggravations, food ameliorations

• c) Character of discharges 

Particulars
Related to part not whole, must be qualified

• Mental symptoms are of supreme importance
• If mental symptom is marked & if it denotes a  change from the patients normal it is of  utmost importance.
• The remedies in the highest grade  are likely to fit the case
• Rubrics with small number of remedies must be taken with caution. Large rubric with same trait must be included with the smaller rubric
• Ill marked mental &  smaller rubric must be taken with caution
• According to kent symptoms that cannot be omitted in each individual is the highest grade. It can be used as eliminating symptoms
• The order of hierarchy of symptoms is mentals, generals, particulars with modalities
• Remedies which appear in the first rubric only is considered in the subsequent rubrics
• Peculiar characteristic symptoms are high generals
• Peculiar mentals are higher than peculiar local symptoms
• Write peculiar symptoms high in the list but use them with care, as it contains smaller number of remedies.
• According to kent take the peculiar characteristic symptoms &see that generals do not oppose or contradict
• If mental symptoms are lacking physical generals can be taken as eliminative symptoms but the symptom must be general to the patient as a whole not particular to some part

A quote from Kent’s private letter “ The student & physician must work to settle the generals , common symptoms & particulars to the fullest extent if he wants to save work”

Realisation of the relative importance of the marked symptoms of the case is essential for the best & quickest work.

Repertory

Mentals are first section & generals the last

Chronic cases can be worked out using mentals & generals alone& particulars seems to fit in.

Arrangement

Time, Conditions in alphabetical order

Pain – Locality, Character, Extension

Generalities – Aggravations, ameliorations, reactions of the patient to physical environment, pathological conditions,

• Desires &aversions regarding food in stomach with hunger & thirst
• Aggravations &ameliorations  from eating, drinking, & from different kinds of foods & drinks in Generalities
• General aggravations & ameliorations from menstruation in Generalities. All other menstrual conditions in Genitalia Female
• Particulars with menstrual modifications are in appropriate places
  • Various headaches modified by menses in section Head
  • Stomach or abdominal distress modified by menses in stomach or abdomen

Better & worse of the patient as a whole in generalities, the better or worse of apart or organ under appropriate sections

Pain in extremities

• It starts with general rubric with time, modalities in alphabetical order
• Pain is localized generally ie bones, flexor muscles, joints, tendons, nails,  with time, conditions in alphabetical order.
• Pain localized in upperlimbs generally with sides, time, conditions in alphabetical order, extension
• After upperlimb then its parts shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, hand, fingers, with time, conditions, extension then lowerlimbs in same order
• Character of pain in alphabetical order under which the arrangement of tine, conditions, extension.

Pain in repertory

• Pain generally with time & conditions
• Pain localized with time, conditions extension
• Character of pain inregard to each locality in turn always with regard to time ; other conditions in alphabetical order & extension.

Mind – Subsections are more important than general headings

Sensitive to light & noise are in mind but sensitive to odour is in Nose , smell, acute

Vertigo – rubrics denoting levitation, Sensations of sinking, tendency to fall to right or left

Head – Sensations &pain in head, hair

Eye – with a separate section vision

Ear – Discharges & pain from ear with a seperate section ,hearing

Nose – with smell

Mouth – tongue, Teeth is a separate section

Coated tongue is found under mouth , discoloration

Throat – Tonsils , uvula, oesophagus

External throat – Cervical glands & thyroid

Stomach – Desires , aversions to food, hunger , thirst

Abdomen—menstrual pains, abdominal pains

Rectum – Diarrhoea, constipation, urging

Stool— Character of stool,lose, hard, large, gushing, forcible, colour, odour

Urinary organs – Five sections; Bladder, kidneys, prostate, urethra, urine

Urging , retention are in bladder

Character of urine, odour, deposits, copious, scanty are in urine

Genitalia – Male & female.Important generals with menstruation is in female genitalia but generally worse & better in menses is in generalities

Kent’s order in compiling repertory

• Is  always from above down ;from the more important to less; from the most broadly general to the most minutely particular.
• Respiratory tract – Larynx & Trachea, respiration, cough, expectoration
• Chest – lungs, heart, mammae
• Back
• Extremities
• Sleep – Dreams, positions in sleep but better & worse from sleep,
• different positions of lying are in Generalities
• Fever sections – Chill, fever, perspiration. Succession of stages are in fever
• Skin
• Generalities

Reference

• A study of Kent’s Repertory – Dr. Margaret Tyler
• Pioneers in Homoeopathy – Dr. Mahendra singh

Dr. Aji Punnen
Email : ajipunnenkocheril@gmail.com