By Marge Roberts, BSN MSHP DAHom
Several years ago I went to a health food store to do a training on the NEWTON homeopathics product line. Approaching a staff person in the homeopathic department, I shared with her that, “I am here to do a scheduled training with the vitamin/body care staff and I forgot my materia medica; do you have one?” She responded, “Yes, I think so” and proceeded to go to the little blue tubes in the homeopathy section and began to search for a single remedy named Materia medica. I guess she assumed that since it was one of those strange Latin names, it must be a single remedy, which is also named in Latin.
Materia medica is Latin for ‘medical material/substance’ and it is a book that consists of a collection of information about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medicines). For our purposes, we will discuss homeopathic materia medicas.
There are many versions available, very inexpensive basic editions as well as very expensive detailed editions, both in print and electronic form. Boericke’s is one of the best-known materia medicas and includes a companion book within the materia medica called a repertory. It comes in a variety of versions including the Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica and Boericke’s New Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica With Repertory. Boericke was an Austrian-born American physician who was also a writer, publisher, and professor.
Robin Murphy, a Doctor of Naturopathy, published a materia medica, a homeopathic remedy guide, and a separate homeopathic clinical repertory.
Repertory of the Homeopathic Materia Medica by Dr. James Tyler Kent is a popular stand-alone repertory.
Dr. Clarke’s Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica is recognized in the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States (HPUS) and does not include a repertory.
Materia medicas are used to guide homeopathic formulators, practitioners, or consumers in their choice of a homeopathic remedy, either as a single remedy or as included in a combination remedy. Materia medicas include remedies with Latin names, common names, and indications for use. Remedy indications are determined by a ‘provings’ process which identifies the conditions/symptoms which may be addressed by the particular remedy. Some materia medicas include other information such as lists of tinctures, tables of relationships, or lists of categories such as nosodes, isodes, or sarcodes.
If you ever wonder why a particular remedy is indicated for a condition on the label or why it is included in a complex (combination remedy), check out a materia medica. Look up the single remedy of interest; the remedies are listed in alphabetical order. Each single remedy entry indicates how the remedy may be used for each system, listed from top to bottom – mind, head, eyes, ears, nose, face, mouth, throat, stomach, abdomen, etc. These indications are based on traditional homeopathic practice and are not based on allopathic medicine and clinical trials.
You can purchase a print version of a basic Boericke Materia Medica from NEWTON or check out a free online version at http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/. You will find an online version of Kent’s Repertory at http://homeoint.org/books/kentrep/.
Don’t understand some of the terminology included in this article? Check out the AACH (American Academy of Clinical Homeopathy) webinar, Basics of Homeopathy on the clinical homeopathy website at aachweb.com.