Repertory Guide

This Guide describes the basic foundations and principles used in the construction of the Complete Repertory. The most up-to-date structural changes can be found on the 2008 edition page.

The Repertorium Universale guide is no longer available. The repertory database revisions undertaken for the RU (specifically the revisions to the grading system) are included below. The historical perspective on Repertory Development from this guide is avalable in the Reference section.

The major repertories used in this century have been Kent’s Repertory, Bönninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocketbook, Boger’s Bönninghausen Repertory, Barthel and Klunker’s Synthetic Repertory and Künzli’s Kent’s Repertorium Generale. Obviously these are all excellent repertories, but all have their mistakes and shortcomings. The richness and accuracy of our repertories is of vital importance since we use them as the primary tools to lead us toward the choice of the simillimum. Therefore we need a repertory that covers as much relevant information as possible and has as many of the rubrics as possible verified back to their original sources.

• To be reliable the repertory should refer to the oldest source of an addition rather than a later one.
• To maintain continuity it should show the related page number for each rubric for the other major repertories.
• To help new and experienced practitioners to find exactly what they are looking for it should have extensive cross references.
• And to enable us to zero in on the simillimum it should have all of the additions from every available reliable source.

Origins and Contruction

The Source Information

The source information we used to create this repertory came from the first, third and sixth American editions of Kent’s Repertory. This information was combined with many corrections and additions found in:

• Homeopathic journals
• Pierre Schmidt and H Chand’s Final General Repertory
• Jost Künzli’s Repertorium Generale
• Sivaraman’s Additions and corrections to Kent’s Repertory
• Boger’s Additions to Kent’s Repertory and
• CCRH’s Corrections to Boger’s Bönninghausen Repertory (there is material in Kent’s Repertory that comes from this repertory).

In addition to the corrections above we extensively verified and corrected remedy abbreviations that have been confusing. Example: am-br. instead of ambr. or cocc. instead of coc'c. or vice versa.

Textual Changes to Kent's Repertory

The hierarchy and text of each rubric have been examined and inconsistencies have been corrected.

The most important word in a rubric was moved to the beginning of that rubric. Example: during urination was changed to urination, during.

The rubrics were re-ordered alphabetically for the hierarchy used in Kent’s Repertory and that hierarchy has been improved compared to Kent’s. The hierarchy of the rubrics was restructured to follow the format: General; sides (one-sided, left, right); times; agg. and amel.; modalities and concordances; extending to; localizations and sensations (pain).

All of the agg. rubrics with amel. sub-rubrics were reorganized: Example

Older terminology was replaced when clearly needed by more modern terminology following the American English spelling. Example: miscarriage is included in abortion, and siesta is included in afternoon sleep.

The text of the rubrics, when unclear, has been corrected to match its materia medica source text.

We replaced the inconsistent use of several words with the same meaning by a single word throughout. Example: micturition became urination, qualmishness became nausea.

Alterations to Remedy Abbreviations

Different abbreviations for one and the same remedy were put together. Example: Kaol and Alum-sil became Alum-sil. (A full index to abbreviation changes can be found on the Indexes page in the Reference section.)

The remedies in each rubric were re-ordered alphabetically according to the alphabetic order of the abbreviations instead of the alphabetic order of the full names of the remedies.

Some remedy abbreviations have been changed to ensure less confusion about what each abbreviation denotes. The confusion was particularly marked for the mineral salts, metals, acidums and aceticums.

Aceticums, aceticas end in -acet. Previously -a or -ac or -acet. Example: Am-a was changed to Am-acet.

Alkaloids end in –in (some exceptions still exist though). Example: Dub. was changed to Dubin., Coni-br. was changed to Conin-br.

Arsenicosums, arsenicicums etc. end in -ar. Previously -ar or -a. or -ars. Example: Nat-a was changed to Nat-ar.

Carbonicums end in -c. One exception because of the weight of usage and tradition is Calcarea carbonica which remains as Calc.

Cyanatums end in -cy. Previously sometimes -c. Example Arg-c was changed to Arg-cy.

Ferro-cyanatums end in -fcy. Previously -fer. Example: Kali-fer was changed to Kali-fcy.

Iris. All Irises now begin with Iris- followed by the abbreviation for the sub species.

Magnetas begin with M- (previously Mag-), to avoid confusion with Magnesiums, which will all remain Mag-. Example: Mag-p-a was changed to M-p-a.

Lacticums end in -l. Previously -l or -lac. Example: Ferr-lac was changed to Ferr-l.

Metallicums now have no suffix at all. Example: Arg-m was changed to Arg. Many metals like Aurum had no suffix, while some like Arg-m. did. The exception to the rule because of the weight of usage and tradition is Arsenicum metallicum which remains as Ars-met. The -met suffix avoids confusion with the muriaticums (-m) and differentiates it from Ars, which stands for Arsenicum album (which in future could change to Ars-o, since it stands for Arsenicum oxidatum).

Muriaticums end in -m. Previously -m or mur. Example Arg-mur was changed to Arg-m.

Nitricums, nitrates, etc, end in -n. Previously sometimes -nit. Example: Stront-nit was changed to Stront-n.

Oxydatums end in -o. Previously -ox or -o. Example: Ant-ox was changed to Ant-o.

Oxalicums end in -ox. Previously -ox or -o. Example: Kali-o was changed to Kali-ox.

Sulphuricums, sulphates, sulfites, etc, end in -s. Previously sometimes -sul or -s. Example: Merc-sul was changed to Merc-s.

Many minor remedy abbreviations have been changed in order not to confuse them with other remedy abbreviations that represent completely different remedies. Example: Cocc-s. (Coccinella septempunctata, an insect) has been changed to Cocci-s in order not to be confused with Cocc (Cocculus indicus, a plant). One might think Cocc-s is a further species in the Cocc family, which it is not. Example: Crot-t (Croton tiglium, a plant) has been changed to Croto-t in order not to be confused with Crot-h and Crot-c, the Crotalus snakes.

Remedy Degrees used in the Repertory

Remedy degrees have been chosen using specific guidelines for the grades indicated in the material medica. Here are a few examples.

		Complete Repertory
Hahnemann’s Materia Medica Pura and Chronic Diseases
(Between brackets)	not relevant enough to use
Normal print	infrequently seen in provings/patients	First degree: plain type
Bold text	often seen in provings/patients	Second degree: italics
Stapf’s Archiv and Additions to the Materia Medica Pura
Normal text		First degree: plain type
E x t e n d e d text		Second degree: italics
Noack and Trinks Handbüch der Homöopathischen Arzneimittellehre
Normal text		First degree: plain type
E x t e n d e d text		Second degree: italics
Jahr’s New Manual of Homeopathic Practice
Normal text		First degree: plain type
Italic text		Second degree: italics
(both can include ° pathogenic symptoms from provings that have been cured in the patient, and * pathogenic and clinical symptoms in normal and italic type.)
Hering’s Guiding Symptoms, Analytical Repertory of the Symptoms of the Mind Knerr’s Repertory to the Guiding Symptoms
| or no sign	occasionally confirmed proving symptom	First degree: plain type
||	more frequently confirmed proving symptom	First degree: plain type
| (bold)	symptoms verified by cures	Second degree: italics
|| (bold)	symptoms repeatedly verified by cures	Third degree: bold
	approved characteristic	Third degree: bold
Θ, the Greek letter theta indicates a specific pathological or physiological state during which a specific symptom was cured by the remedy. We included those remedies when there was more than one entry for that situation and/or when these entries were not in plain type. These remedies have a certain value not restricted to that specific situation and therefore should be mentioned. Toxicological symptoms were included. π symptoms have been included, standing for symptoms observed in the sick. The Knerr repertory omits the Θ and π symptoms.
T F Allen’s Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica
Normal text	not verified symptoms	First degree: plain type
* Normal text	verified symptoms	First degree: plain type
Italic text	more frequent in provings	Second degree: italics
* Italic text	more frequent in provings, verified in cures	Second degree: italics
Bold text	frequent in provings	Third degree: bold
* Bold text	frequent in provings and verified in cures	Third degree: bold
H C Allen’s Materia Medica of the Nosodes Allen probably used a combination of information from Jahr and Hering
| or no sign	proving symptom, not or only occasionally confirmed	First degree: plain type
||	more frequently confirmed proving symptom	Second degree: italics
Italics	more frequently confirmed proving symptom	Second degree: italics
| Italics	symptoms verified by cures ?	Second degree: italics
|||	frequently confirmed proving symptom ?	Third degree: bold
Θ, the Greek letter theta indicates a specific pathological or physiological state during which a specific symptom was cured by the remedy. (see Lac vaccinum defloratum)
W Boericke’s Materia Medica, O Boericke’s Repertory
Normal text		First degree: plain type
Italic text		Second degree: italics
J H Clarke’s Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica
Normal text		First degree: plain type
Italic text		Second degree: italics
Kent’s Lectures on Homeopathic Materia Medica, Lesser Writings, Minor Writings
Normal text		First degree: plain type
Italic text		Second degree: italics
UPPER CASE text		Third degree: bold
Boger’s Bönninghausen Repertory Bönninghausen’s Therapeutic Pocketbook and Systematisch Alphabetisches Repertorium der Antipsorischen Night Antipsorischen Arzneien Bönninghausen’s degree division was used by Hering.
(text)	conditional
Normal text		First degree: plain type
Italic text		Second degree: italics
Bold Capitalised text		Third degree: bold
UPPER CASE text		Third degree: bold
BOLD UPPER CASE text		Third degree: bold

All new rubrics that were sourced from these repertories have been included with the degrees of the remedies as in these repertories, except for the bold upper case remedies that stand for the fourth degree in these repertories. This degree was downgraded to the third degree when adding the information to the Complete Repertory.

Some degrees were changed, overruling the original degree for the specified remedy in Kent’s Repertory, after referring to Kent’s Lectures, Lesser Writings and Minor Writings. In these instances you will find ID # 58 (additions from Kent’s Repertory have no ID number), meaning that you are dealing with information from Kent’s materia medica work, written after the completion of the repertory.

Some degrees were changed to higher degrees based on printed and handwritten information by P. Schmidt as found in his manuscripts and copies of Kent’s Repertory. These changed will have ID # 122 or the ID number for the oldest original author. All fourth degree remedies come from P. Schmidt but can also have an older ID number.

Some degrees were changed using J. Künzli’s Repertorium Generale without further mentioning. The text in the Complete Repertory should be identical to the text in the Repertorium Generale. This book became the reference Kentian style repertory in the last few years and has been thoroughly checked by the Künzli-group under supervision of D. Spinedi.

Once we felt that we had created the most precise and correct Kentian style repertory possible we started working on further improvements and additions.

Revision of the grading system

Repertory gradings provide an additional source of information about the characteristic nature of remedy symptoms, but are frequently misunderstood. Many think they represent the intensity of a symptom, which may even originate in Kent’s teachings (1). This is incorrect. Repertory gradings, regardless of specific criteria which vary from repertory to repertory, have always indicated frequency: the number of times a particular symptom has been recorded for any one remedy. Gradings are consequently a confidence rating – an indication of reliability, or characteristic quality, or simply the fact that the remedy is a polychrest and has more documented clinical confirmation. This has no direct relationship to intensity.

With the structural changes to the repertory introduced for the Repertorium Universale, the grading system for the entire repertory database was completely revised, changing from a Kentian-based classification to one based on Bönninghausen’s criteria.

The important point to note is that the first grade/degree in Kent equates to both the first and second degree in Bönninghausen’s system.

Neither grading system separately distinguishes proving symptoms and clinical information, but Kent’s system contains a fundamental conflict in its criteria which makes it illogical and difficult to apply and interpret. Kent defines his first degree by saying it should include symptoms only experienced “now and then” in provings, the second is for symptoms found in “a few” provers, and the third for symptoms in “all or the majority” of provers (2). He then completely over-rides that differentiation by stipulating that clinical confirmation is required for the second degree, consequently relegating all proving symptoms to the first degree, regardless of their significance, until such time as they receive clinical confirmation.

P Schmidt’s fourth degree (introduced in Barthel & Klunker’s Synthetic Repertory and incorporated in the Complete Repertory) is broadly equivalent to the fourth degree in Bönninghausen’s grade system and is therefore no longer shown separately.

In the first edition of the Repertorium Universale there were very few remedies in the redefined second degree. Those included were mostly from recent provings. The use of the Kentian grade system up to that point meant that the first degree included all the remedies originally defined as second degree in all works using Bönninghausen’s grade system. These are being restored to the second degree as a comprehensive revision of the data sources for first grade remedies takes place. (See detailed statistics on Repertory Statistics page.)

The grading system changes have been made to give a more accurate impression of the characteristic nature of symptoms recorded in provings – a frequent source of frustration for today’s proving directors. Bönninghausen’s criteria provide a clearer delineation between proving information (including herbal and toxicological data) and clinical confirmation (which establishes the real homeopathicity of the remedy to the symptom). The system is more flexible, and also more consistent with the older literature (Hering, for instance, used Bönninghausen’s differentiation in his Guiding Symptoms). It gives a finer and more precise differentiation between the degrees and paves the way for further revisions in future editions of the repertory which will grade remedies according to even more precise criteria, removing all inconsistencies and confusion.

Grading revision is regarded as one of the most important areas of work over the next few years. All the material in the old journals contains a vast number of clinical confirmations for remedies, very little of which has been incorporated into any repertory revisions, or any of the modern repertories.

Rubric Reorganisation – Mind Chapter

There have been some important changes and additions to the rubrics of the MIND chapter. The Dreams have been put in the MIND chapter. After speaking to many homeopaths the general idea has formed that the Dreams are a substantial part of the MIND chapter. The Dreams represent emotional impressions and mental strain.

The location of the rubrics for Speech in the MIND and MOUTH chapters of the repertory has been changed. The original reason that Kent divided Speech rubrics between these chapters was that he wanted those rubrics of Speech that had a mental/emotional aetiology to be distinguished from those that were more physiological in origin. Nevertheless many rubrics have been confused or were open to misinterpretation. We reexamined the meaning of the rubrics and then put them either in the new chapter SPEECH & VOICE, or we have put them under other main rubrics, mainly Talk, talking, talks when their aetiology was a more emotional-mental one. Example: MIND; Speech; embarrassed (Kent p 81) was changed to MIND; Talk, talking, talks; embarrassed. Example: MIND; Speech; incoherent (Kent p 81) became Speech & Voice; Speech; incoherent. The main rubric Speech under SPEECH & VOICE includes all those rubrics that relate to the motor function of speech.

The bodily anxieties and apprehensions have been included in the MIND chapter under Anxiety. The reason for this is that, although felt in a specific part of the body, it is still an expression of emotional value and therefore should be included in the MIND chapter. Of course we also preserved those rubrics in the specific body part chapter. Example: STOMACH; Anxiety in has been included in Mind; Anxiety; Stomach, in.

The separate main MIND rubrics Talk; Talking and Talks have been combined into one rubric named Talk, talking, talks since they were inconsistent in their meaning and therefore confusing.

The sub-rubrics mentioning animals and body or body parts under the main rubrics Delusions, Dreams and Fear have been put together under the header: body, body parts or animals. Example: Fear; dogs, of (Kent p 44) became Fear; animals; dogs, of.

In the main rubric Delusions many sub-rubrics with the same meaning were found and their remedies were transferred to the most suitable location and wording to represent that information. Cross-references to the new locations indicate where a specific rubric in Kent’s Repertory has been moved.

Rubric Reorganisation – Other Chapters

In all chapters the Discolorations and Eruptions rubrics have been reorganised so that all of the sub-rubrics now fit the same hierarchical layout. The layout is: the general rubric, then the sub-rubrics concerning the time modalities, the general modalities and the locations, followed by the specific colours or specific type of eruptions with their specific locations as sub-rubrics. Kent’s presentation was not consistent. In some chapters he would use this hierarchy, in others the locations would appear first with the specifics as their sub-rubrics.

In all chapters the main Pain rubrics, except for the HEAD PAIN chapter and the EXTREMITY PAIN chapter, have been reorganised hierarchically. They all start with General, with the sub-rubrics arranged by the time modalities, the general modalities and causations and the "extending to" rubrics followed by the pain types, including "wandering", "radiating" and "pulsating/throbbing" that were formerly found in the sub-rubrics of Pain; General. The rubrics Pain from the HEAD and EXTREMITIES chapter have been moved to their own chapters in order in order to minimise confusion resulting from the size of them and from the depth of the hierarchy.

Several body locations have been moved from more than one chapter to the one chapter in order to be consistent. Forehead as a location could be found in both the FACE chapter and the HEAD chapter. It is now contained in the FACE chapter with cross-references at the old location. In the NOSE chapter under Eruptions only those have been kept in the NOSE chapter that stand for Eruptions, inside, all other ones have been moved to the FACE chapter. In the FACE chapter all locations for "eyebrows, about" have been added, most of them coming from the EYE chapter. Eruptions about the eyes in the EYE chapter have been kept there. One could put these also in the FACE chapter though.

All noises in all different chapters have been put together, like in the EAR chapter, under the main rubric Noises.

In line with handwritten suggestions by Kent as found in P. Schmidt's copies of Kent’s Repertory new chapters have been created for SMELL and TASTE, similar to the already existing chapters for VISION and HEARING.

The Aversion and Desire rubrics in the STOMACH have been moved to the GENERALITIES chapter where they can be found combined under the main rubric Food and drinks.

In the STOMACH chapter the Indigestion and Disordered rubrics have been reorganised so that now the Indigestion rubric contains all the modalities around Indigestion and Disordered and the Disordered rubric contains all specific foods that cause Indigestion or Disordered stomach.

In the ABDOMEN chapter all epigastrium locations have been moved to the STOMACH chapter and have been put in the general Stomach rubrics there.

In the STOOL chapter all colours have been put under the main rubric Colour, similar to the URINE chapter.

In the MALE and FEMALE chapters the rubrics for Excitement, Sexual passion, Desire diminished have been reorganized into Sexual desire with diminished or increased as sub-rubrics. In the FEMALE chapter the rubrics Menses, Leucorrhoea and Lochia have been reorganised with all general modalities under the rubric General followed by the rubrics describing the appearance of menses, leucorrhoea, and lochia.

A new chapter has been created containing those Speech rubrics from the MIND and MOUTH chapters that are related to speech production problems and the Voice rubrics formerly found in the LARYNX & TRACHEA chapter. The rubrics of Speech related to emotional background have been placed in the MIND chapter under Talk, talking, talks.

In the RESPIRATION chapter the sub-rubrics for Difficult and Impeded have been compared and when the same, they have been combined and put under Difficult with cross-references at the original locations of the rubrics that have been moved. The other rubrics have been given cross-references that link them to the similar rubrics in the other main rubric.

The FEVER chapter has been renamed to FEVER, HEAT. The CHILL chapter to CHILL, CHILLINESS. The main rubric Chilliness in here is confusing and could possible be combined with similar rubrics in the Generalities chapter.

In the SKIN chapter all the pains have been put under Pain, with the usual hierarchy as used in Kent’s Repertory and as further refined and updated following the text below. In the Ulcer sub-rubrics the pains have been reorganised following the same principles as for the pains in other chapters.

In GENERALITIES abuse of several substances and poisoning by several substances have been put under the main rubric Abuse of, poisoning with.

Many much smaller reorganisation work has been done, but it would be too extensive to mention all of it here.

Additions, New Rubrics and Cross-references

We made additions from various sources, using information about the reliability of authors, and using the book reviews for those sources from old homeopathic journals as a guideline for quality.

As a general rule, we tried to make additions from the oldest author available for that addition. We also took the grade of the additions and the existing information into account in order not to destroy the valid information in Kent’s Repertory. The original source is credited with their additions. In most cases there is extensive materia medica available to confirm and check information. The older authors have written more about their discoveries than their later colleagues!

This is why some of the additions in this new repertory come from very different sources than expected. For reasons of reliability we did not include information that cannot be confirmed or checked in writing. When information which you would like to see in this repertory becomes published, it will be included.

New rubrics were created when there were no existing rubrics that covered their meaning in Kent’s Repertory. We studied the meaning of the rubric using the information in the materia medica and the information in contemporary dictionaries of the time. Also, the rubric to be added should have real homeopathic value, ie. the new information should be information that helps the consulting homeopath find the right remedy.

Cross-references were created to help locate as many close alternatives to a specific rubric as possible. Most of the similar, but still somewhat different rubrics have been included as cross-references for many rubrics. This gives us better choices for our patients.

Much extra new information has been included, such as rubrics to guide you to the right place in the repertory to find the correct location of the rubric you need. This information mostly consists of synonyms and/or modern terminology for a specific rubric.

Key to the Complete Repertory

References and Cross-references

References are connected to rubrics that have no remedies and point to the rubrics to look at that contain remedies. References start with a → sign, followed by a • sign for every next reference.

Cross-references are connected to rubrics that contain remedies and follow the remedies of that rubric pointing you to rubrics with related meanings. Cross-references always start with a • sign.

If the reference points to rubrics that can be found in the same main rubric or sub-rubric, then these first references are displayed in lower case italics. Example: micturition → urination, where urination can be found at the same level.

If the reference points to a main rubric, then the first character of the reference is displayed in upper case italic with the other characters in lower case. Example: talking, from → Talk, talking, talks; agg.

If the reference indicates a rubric in another section of the Repertory, then the section title is displayed in upper case italics. Example: • GENERALITIES; Weather; cloudy; agg.

Semicolons (;) indicates the hierarchical levels within the rubric. Example: • Exertion; mental; agg.

Dashes (-) used in references indicate several sub-rubrics within a main rubric that the reference is pointing to. Example: • Fear; bad news, hearing – horrible things – sad stories, which stands for Fear; bad news or Fear; horrible things or Fear; sad stories. Multiple references in a single layer are always displayed in alphabetical order. References to several other sections are displayed in the order in which they appear in the Repertory, following the Head-to-toe schema.

Author Identification Numbers

We have based the author identification numbers (IDs) chronologically, from the dates when the authors first published their work. This is a change from the system used in the computer versions of the Complete Repertory prior to version 3.1, the Synthetic Repertory and the Repertorium Generale. They indicate the time the addition was made and by whom. Author numbers are displayed as superscript numbers after the remedy abbreviation.

Degrees of remedies

Plain type First degree remedies
Bold italics Second degree remedies
BOLD UPPER CASE Third degree remedies
BOLD UPPER CASE UNDERLINED Fourth degree remedies
This display gives a clear distinction between the degrees.

Repertory Page References

Page references for Kent’s Repertory [K], the Synthetic Repertory [SI or SII or SIII] and the Repertorium Generale [G] have been included for those rubrics that are mentioned in these repertories. The page references are displayed within square brackets and are located directly after the rubric text. Example: mental [K95, SI 23, G76] indicating the rubric is found in Kent’s Repertory on page 95, in the Synthetic Repertory vol 1 in column 23, and in the Repertorium Generale on page 76.

Notes and References

(1) “Nothing has harmed our cause more than books that generalise modalities, viz: by making a certain aggravation or amelioration fit all parts as well as the general bodily states. Cold air may aggravate the patient but ameliorate the headache. Stooping seldom aggravates headache, backache, cough and vertigo in the same degree, yet Bönninghausen compels you to look in one place for all of them, and they are marked with the same gradings. The patient is often better by motion, but his parts, if inflamed, are worse from motion.” J T Kent. The View for Successful Prescribing. Homeopathician: 1(1912)140-143 in K-H Gypser (Ed). 1987. Kent’s Minor Writings on Homeopathy, B Jain, New Delhi, p645. (Note how easy it is to interpret Kent’s comments about degree as if he were talking about intensity.)

(2) J T Kent, Lectures on Homeopathic Philosophy. 1991. B Jain, New Delhi. Lecture 33, p213-214. (Note that in this lecture Kent refers to the lowest degree as the third grade and the highest as the first.)

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