Repertory to the Rheumatic Remedies

Dr Rumsheed N BHMS MD(Hom)

• Author : Herbert A Roberts
• Published in the year 1939
• This is the reprint edition in 2005, published by B.Jain publishers
• Based on THE RHEUMATIC REMEDIES
• Number of remedies 206

Gradation : 4 typography used

• 1^st grade – CAPITAL
• 2^nd grade – SMALL CAPITAL
• 3^rd grade – Italics
• 4^th grade – roman

Herbert A. Roberts (1868 – 1950)
Herbert A. Roberts, MD, was born May 7, 1868 and died October 13, 1950. He graduated from the New York Homoeopathic Medical College, practiced for a while in Vermont and then set up practice in Derby Connecticut.

Dr. Roberts worked as a medical officer on troop ships during World War 1. He was the president of the International Hahnemannian Association (IHA) in 1923 and editor of the much-respected Homoeopathic Recorder from 1927-1934.

Roberts was an active writer, researcher, and teacher. Between the IHA transactions and the Homoeopathic Recorder he authored 117 articles and 27 editorials.

He is the ex chairman of the American Foundation for Homoeopathy and editor of Homoeopathic Recorder. His other important works are

• Principles and practicability of Boenninghausen’s Therapeutic pocket Book
• Sensation as if
• The study of remedies by comparison
• The principles and art of cure by Homoeopathy
• Rheumatic remedies

RHEUMATISM
Word meaning: rheu·ma·tism/ (roo´mah-tizm) any of a variety of disorders marked by inflammation, degeneration, or metabolic derangement of the connective tissue structures, especially the joints and related structures, and attended by pain, stiffness, or limitation of motion.

There is no such diagnosis as Rheumatism. It implies only a general symptomatology of pain that is similar in certain characteristics whether it may be gout, arthritis, inflammatory rheumatism, or any other disease condition affecting certain group of tissues. All the conditions grouped under the term Rheumatism affect similar tissues, produce similar sensations, and are affected by similar modalities in relationship to certain remedies. Because some remedies have special affinity for certain tissues like muscles, tendons, synovial membrane etc.

Repertory Proper

The chapters are arranged anatomically starting with the chapter MODALITIES.

Each chapter is arranged in similar pattern

• Modalities
• Location and extension
• Sensations

The chapters are

1. Modalities
2. Symptoms in general ( concomitants )
3. Head
4. Eyes
5. Ears
6. Nose
7. Face and Teeth
8. Mouth and Tongue
9. Throat
10. Stomach
11. Hypochondria ( liver and spleen )
12. Abdomen, Rectum and Stool, etc
13. Urinary organs
14. Sexual organs  – male,
15.  female
16. Voice , Chest, Respiration, Cough
17. Heart and Circulation
18. Neck
19. Back
20. Joints
21. Extremities in general
22. Upper extremities
23. Lower extremities
24. Chill, fever and sweat
25. Skin

Chapters starting from HEAD are arranged in the order of aggravation, amelioration, sensation and extension

Modalities
This chapter contains aggravations followed by ameliorations. It includes time modalities expressed both according to the fraction of the day and timings in am and pm.

SYMPTOMS IN GENERAL (CONCOMITANTS )

• Symptoms not referable to a part

This section contains

Mental symptoms
Eg ; absentmindedness, anxiety, delirium, fear, nervousness etc

Different constitutions
Eg ; aged suitable for the, cachetic females, children with large head and much sweat, prematurely old, emaciation etc

Clinical rubrics
Eg ; anasarca, ascites, chlorosis, diabetes mellitus, hemoptysis, palsy, sprains etc

Ailments from
Eg ; amputation after, fluid after loss of , overlifting complaints from, overwork complaints from, sprains lameness after etc

Affected parts
Eg ; Fibrous tissue affected, muscles affected, nervous affections, periosteum fibrous sheaths of nerves and fascia affected,

Glands
Eg ; enlarged, indurated stony hardness, suppuration, swelling  etc

Pain
Arranged in the order of modalities, location, onset and character.

Rheumatic affections
Eg ; troubles alternate with affections of tonsils, condition associated with diabetes mellitus etc

Sleep
Eg ; sleepiness, sleeplessness, slleps into aggravation

Vertigo
Eg ; on stooping, with tendency to fall to the right, as if things within a circle.

MERITS

• As the name suggests it is used for repertorising the cases affecting the connective tissues.
• It is applicable in case of complete symptoms.
• It is also useful in cases with prominent modalities.

DEMERITS

• Each rubric constitute only a few remedies.
• Total number of medicines is only 206.
• There are no cross references, no index, no abbreviations or no remedy list mentioned.
• Grading of symptoms is confusing since there is CAPITALS and SMALL CAPITALS.

SUMMARY

• Repertory to rheumatic remedies is one of the regional repertories by H.A.Roberts.it constitutes of 25 chapters where the repertory can be used to work out the cases with complete symptoms and prominent modalities.It not only deals with the rheumatic affections but also with other rubrics related to general and particular symptoms.