ORGANON OF MEDICINE

The Whole book is divided into two parts:

I. Introduction

It is a review of the allopathic system of medicine, it deals with the various prefaces of different editions of the Organon of Medicine.

2. Organon proper

It is again subdivided into two:

(a) The Doctrinal part deals with

• The logical explanations of the theories like knowledge of disease (1 to 18 aphorisms).
• The knowledge of medicine (19 to 27 aphorisms)
• How to choose and administer the remedy (28 to 69 aphorisms).

(b) Practical part deals with the method and ways of practicing homoeopathy.

• What is necessary to know in order to cure the disease (§ 72 to 104).
• How to gain knowledge of the instruments presented for the cure of natural disease, the pathogenetic powers of the medicine (§ 105 to 145).
• The most suitable method of employing these artificial morbific agents (medicines) for the cure of natural diseases (§ 146 to 285).

Introduction part

1. Preface of different editions (that is, theoretic medicine, demerits of current system, duty of physician and knowledge of medicine of that time).
2. Development of homoeopathy.
3. Struggle of Hahnemann to establish homoeopathy.
4. Different additions.
5. Basic principles of homoeopathy.

Law of similia, simplex, minimum dose, vital force, drug-proving, potentization, chronic disease.

Organon proper

Theoretical part (Aphorism 1-70)

1. § 1: Mission: Spirit of devotion for the betterment of suffering humanity.

Cure: To restore the sick to health maintainingHering’s law of cure, that is, cure is from above downward, center to periphery and the reverse order of appearance of the original symptoms.

Health: Health means feeling of ease both mentally and physically.

2. § 2: The physician must know that the highest ideal of cure is rapid, gentle, permanent removal of disease in shortest, most reliable, and harmless way under comprehensible principles.

3. § 3: A physician must have knowledge of disease, medicine, pharmacy, dose, repetition, and obstacles to recovery.

4. § 4: The physician must know how to preserve health by making people conscious about the causes of disease.

5. § 5-18                                             

(a) What disease is.

(b) Maintaining, fundamental and exciting cause of Disease.

(c) Production of disease.

(d) Vital force: A fundamental energy which governs all organs and parts of the body in health, and its role in disease and cure.        

(e) Character of vital force:

• Spiritual
• Dynamic
• Automatic
• Autocratic
• Unintelligent
• Instinctive

(f) Relation of Vital Force with material body.

(g) Removal of morbid symptoms.

6. § 19-28: Knowledge about:

• Medicine (artificial morbific agent),
• Nature’s law of cure,
• Curative power of medicine is its pathogenetic power and therefore disease-curing power,
• Drug proving.

7. § 29-69: Explanation of Law of Sirnilars.

• How homoeopathic cure takes place.
• Action of natural morbific noxious influence.
• Medicine: Disease-producing power acts conditionally, but medicine acts unconditionally.
• Co-existence of two chronic diseases.

(e) What happens when dissimilar diseases meet.

(f) What happens when two similar diseases meet.

(g) The modes of applying medicine in homoeopathy, allopathy, antipathy and isopathy, and their merits and demerits. (Relationship to contemporary therapeutics.)

8. § 70: Knowledge of life, medicine, health, disease, and cure (Inferences).

Practical part (§ 71 -§294)

1. § 71-104: Knowledge of

• Disease classification
• Management
• Case-taking, etc.

 2.  § 104-145: Knowledge of drug-proving, that is, prover, medicine, preparation, dose, environment, management, and action of medicine.

 3. § 146-end:

• Hahnemann’s classification of disease
• Aggravation (homoeopathic, medicinal, and disease)
• Management of cases with partially similar symptoms
• Treatment of psora, sycosis, syphilis
• Observation
• Individualization
• Mental Disease
• Intermittent disease
• Modes of applying medicine in chronic disease
  

4. § 146-263 deals with the selection and mode of administration of remedies,

5. § 264-285: These aphorisms deal with route of administration of medicine. Hahnemann has suggested new ways of remedy administration by olfaction, inhalation and rubbing of medicine externally which is given internally simultaneously.

6.§ 286-291 deals with the utility of therapeutic agents other than drugs (ancillary measures), such as:Magnetism and electricity (§ 286 to 287)Mesmerism (288 to 289)Massage (290)Bath (291)

Contributor- Dr. Manju Valesha