Book Review on Homoeopathic Medical Repertory 3rd Edition

Dr Aji Punnen  BHMS,MD(Hom)

The author of the book Homoeopathic Medical Repertory is Robin Murphy N D. Homoeopathic Medical Repertory contains dedication, acknowledgements, publisher’s note, preface to third edition, introduction to homoeopathic Medical repertory by Robin Murphy, table of contents, chapters in alphabetical order, Homoeopathic references, Homoeopathic Remedies list, Word Index.

Dedication : The book is dedicated to Sant Kirpal Singh 

Acknowledgements
Robin Murphy thanks everyone who has participated in publishing the book.Special thanks are offered to Kachina Domenick, prema Khemka , Houston Johnson, Rosko Rossoff, Marcus Fernandez, Dipali Nanda, Cheyanne West, Kuldeep Jain, Shan Roy, P. Sivaraman, Shashi Kant Tiwari, Rita Chakraborty, Vishpala Parthasarathy, Rama Hariharan, Alexander Yuan, Verna Murphy, Rajendar Singh, Homoeopathic students, Qigong students 

Publisher’s note by Kuldeep Jain
This is  a revised edition of Homoeopathic Medical Repertory which is  already been popularized as Homoeopathic clinical Repertory. 

Preface to the third edition
Preface is written by Robin Murphy N D on August 15 , 2009 from Blacksburg, virginia ,USA

Attempt is made to upgrade second edition by

  • Modern terminologies & cross references are added
  • Errors were corrected
  • Additions from Reliable sources
  • Addition of clinical information relevant to modern Homoeopathic practice
  • Features of Homoeopathic Medical Repertory Third edition
  • 74 chapters
  • Modern Terminology & diseases
  • Consistent alphabetical  formatting of chapters, rubrics, subrubrics
  • 20,000 new Rubrics
  • More than 100000 new additions & updates
  • Small light weight book 

Revised Edition
It is a companion volume to Homoeopathic Remedy guide & is an improvised version with relevant additions. It is already popular as Homoeopathic clinical Repertory.

Medical Repertory Structure
The structure is alphabetical – clinical format. All chapters, rubrics, sub rubrics are in alphabetical order. The chapters are re-examined, corrected, updated, with more clinical additions

Page Headers
The name of the chapter is in the top middle of the page. Rubric titles are given above each column (Dictionary format).Page is divided in to two columns.

Remedy grading

Four gradations are used

  • ARN-Bold capitals & underlined – 4 points
  • ARN — Bold capitals – 3 points
  • Arn– Bold italics – 2 points
  • Arn– Plain small – 1 point  

Medical Repertory Chapters
There are 74 chapters arranged in alphabetical order.

The chapters are abdomen, ankle, arms, back,  bladder, bones, brain, breast, breathing, cancer, chest, children, chills, clinical, constitutions, coughing, dreams, ears, elbows, eyes, face, fainting, feet, female, fevers, food, gallbladder, generals, gland, hand, head, headaches, hearing, heart, hips, intestines, joints, kidneys, knees, larynx, legs, limbs, liver, lungs, male, mind, mouth, muscles, neck , nose, pelvis, perspiration, pregnancy, pulse, rectum, shoulders, skin, sleep, speech, spleen, stomach, stool, taste, teeth, throat, time, tongue, toxicity, urine, vaccinations, vertigo, vision, weakness, wrists

Blood, Delusions, Diseases, Emergency, Environment, nerves– These are altered chapters which have been renamed & reorganized

Blood, diseases, emergency, Nerves – Included in Clinical chapter

Delusions – Included in  Mind

Environment – Included in Generals

New chapters – Cancer, Clinical, Fainting, Gallbladder, Speech, Spleen, Taste, Time, Vaccinations, Weakness

New Clinical chapter
Clinical chapter is a merger of following chapters from the second edition –Blood, diseases, emergency & nerves. Clinical chapter contains rubrics relating to blood, diseases, emergency & nerves, disorders, diagnostics, pathologies, tissue changes.

This chapter is updated & edited.

New rubrics & additions
New additions are from Mac repertory, Reference works homoeopathic soft ware, Knerr’s Repertory, Allen’s symptom index of the encyclopedia of pure materia medica.

Homoeopathic References
Reference works include Homoeopathic books , proving & journals, small clinical & therapeutic books . The reference list has been expanded & updated.

Homoeopathic Remedy list
Remedy list is included in the last portion of Repertory for easy access. It includes the remedy abbreviations used in the Medical Repertory & general homoeopathic Materia Medicas , full latin names, common names with family name

Word index
It is seen at the back of the repertory. It is expanded to include many clinical conditions & states.
Common words found in many chapters are not included. E.g. Burning

Abbreviations
Abbreviations used in this book are

  • Agg – aggravated by, worse from or symptoms increased by
  • Amel – ameliorated by, better from, or symptoms decreased by 

INTRODUCTION
Introduction is by Robin Murphy N D. He gives a glimpse about origin of  Repertory & its compilation, Repertory Schemes, case analysis, sources of rubrics, gradations, format.

Common Repertory schemes are

  • Hierarchial/anatomical/Theoretical
  • Concordance/Symptomatic
  • Alphabetical / Clinical 

Hahnemannian Schema  — He offered an out line for recording the information gathered from the experimental proving of Homoeopathic remedies. This became the schema for Materia Medica Pura. It begins with vertigo goes through more than 50 sections ending with emotions & mind.

Kent’s Repertory  –  It was based on  the assumption that all cases should be analysed from generals to particulars, from psychological to physical.

View of T F Allen – Repertories must be organised in  a hieraarchial order or in a simple alphabetical order ( Introduction to the Index of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica). According to Dr. T F Allen future standard works must be free from theoretical ideas concerning the physiological action of remedies & must classify symptomatology in a form which permit ready reference & enable numerous provings to be condensed.

Natural Hierarchy used for case analysis

  • Most life threatening to the patient
  • Causative factors in the case
  • Most severe or important presenting symptoms 

But a fixed hierarchy is against the individualization & we must perceive the unique hierarchy of each case as natural order is deranged in to multiple unpredictable patterns.

Homoeopathic Medical Repertory
Robin Murphy created a new scheme that would facilitate access to rubrics at all levels inorder to provide clearer images of the anatomical, physiological & clinical rubric groups

Eg. All lung rubrics are given in one place instead  of scattered in chest chapter.

This schema allows  easy transition from particular to general chapters & viceversa.

The Alphabetical Format
It includes 74 chapters arranged in alphabetical order according to anatomy, physiology, or clinical topic. The rubrics & sub rubrics contained in each chapter are sorted in to alphabetical format. Chapters were rearranged & compiled from the original 36 chapters in Kent’s Repertory. Homoeopathic Medical Repertory was created to be more consistent with Hahnemann’s anatomical &physiological categories & has been reorganized in to an alphabetical order. This scheme was chosen as the most natural organizational method for large amounts of information  thus bringing the repertory in to line with the homoeopathic materia medicas.

Language of the Homoeopathic Medical Repertory

Murphy shares the concept that the language of the  repertory must be in accordance to the language & culture of patients.

Formatting & grading of Remedies
CALC  —  4 points

CALC –  Bold capital, 3points, Third grade – If a remedy has cured symptom or condition is cured more than 12 times & is confirmed by three or more practitioners

Calc – Bold italics , 2 points, Second grade  If a remedy has cured symptom is  more than six times & confirmed by more than three practitioners

Calc – Plain type, 1 point, First grade  — If aremedy has cured a symptom or conditions more than three times & confirmed by more than three homoeopaths it is added to the repertory in the first grade

Other criteria for gradations

  • Remedy’s proving the frequency& intensity of symptoms
  • Remedy’s toxicology
  • Remedy’s cured cases, symptoms, & diseases
  • Remedy’s clinical experience &research
  • Remedy’s history & folklore 

Clinical &pathological rubrics

The sources of rubrics in Repertory are

  • Previous repertories
  • Materia Medica
  • Notes from the ablest practitioners of the time 

The idea of additions to Repertory from the data or symptoms which is verified or clinical was proposed by Kent in the preface of repertory of Homoeopathic Materia Medica

Modern Homoeopathic Repertories must include rubrics denoting   new diseases & conditions of modern industrial society  caused by

  • a.allopathic drugs
  • b.radiation
  • c.chemotherapy
  • d.surgery
  • e.vaccination 

The need for a modern medical Repertory
As Kent states   ( The Homoeopathician journal for pure Homoeopathy No.  2 August 1912) proving of remedies cannot be continued to the extent of producing tissue alterations, indurations, infiltrations, suppurations. So indications of remedies in these conditions must be learned clinically, from the use of remedies in patients in whom tissue changes have occurred

Murphy’s concept of totality is based on classical & clinical Homoeopathic practice. It embraces the principles of Kent’s generals, Boenninghausen’s complete symptoms, Bogers pathological generals & other stalwarts clinical principles of prescribing.

Murphy’s Repertory can be used in following cases

  • Mentals &generals are prominent
  • Clinical symptoms & diagnosis is available
  • Pathological generals / constitutions are available
  • Complete symptoms are available
  • Case has paucity of symptoms

Table of contents
It includes the contents of the Homoeopathic medical repertory given in the order of arrangement from the start to the last with page numbers

Chapters

  • There are 74 chapters which are given in alphabetical order starting with abdomen & ending in wrist.
  • The page is divided in to two columns.
  • The name of the chapter is given in the beginning of each chapter & top middle of the page.
  • Each chapter starts with a general rubric followed by alphabetical arrangement.
  • The rubrics are represented in bold capital letters eg – ACHING 
  • Each rubric is separated by a vertical line
  • The rubrics are given in the top of the column (Dictionary format)                                
  • Sub rubrics are represented in bold small or bold roman letters under the rubrics with an indentation to the right.
  • Subsubrubrics are represented under the subrubrics in ordinary roman letters with an indentation to the right 
  • Medicines are given after rubrics or sub rubrics & are separated by a hyphen
  • Medicines are given in alphabetical order & are separated by a semicolon.
  • Medicines are listed in the form of abbreviations whose expansion is given at the back of the repertory. 
  • Cross-references & synonyms are given immediately after the rubric in brackets 

Homoeopathic References
It is the list of books & authors which are major sources of additions, updates & new rubrics. It is given in alphabetic order.

Homoeopathic remedies list
Medicines are used in the Repertory proper in the form of abbreviations. Here abbreviations are given in alphabetical order with the full name of medicine, its common name, family, habitat, chemical constituents, parts used for preparing the medicine.

Word index
Word Index is given in alphabetical order . It is expanded to include clinical conditions, states, symptoms. Common symptoms which are found in many chapters are not given much emphasis.

Merits

  • Alphabetical format – rubrics are easy to find
  • Many clinical rubrics, additions, new rubrics   possess New chapters included
  • Cancer , Vaccinations chapters are unique which are important in  clinical practice
  • One extra gradation of  remedies which enables the practitioner to give  importance to particular remedy
  • Each rubrics are seperated by a vertical line
  • Addition of many diagnostic rubrics
  • Medicinal additions includes more polychrest medicines

Demerits

  • Claims complete alphabetical format yet chapters starts with general rubric
  • Based on Kent’s repertory of Homoeopathic materiamedica but have four gradations of medicines.
  • Importance is given to particular chapters than general chapters
  • More diagnostic rubrics which may lead to specific prescribing

Dr Aji Punnen  BHMS,MD(Hom)
Email :  ajipunnenkocheril@gmail.com

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