WHILHELM HEINRICH SCHUESSLER        

(1821 – 1898)

 

Dr. Schuessler was born on 21 August 1821 in Oldenburg, Germany.

 

He was a studious boy. Owing to his outstanding abilities, he could devote most of his time to foreign languages – Latin, Greek, French, English, Spanish and Italian. When he grew into a young man, Schuessler decided to become a homoeopathic practitioner. On hearing this, his brother promised assistance on the condition only if he would become a legally qualified physician practicing homoeopathy. Schuessler accepted the offer and studied medicine at Universities of Berlin, Paris, Giessen and Prague. He then started his practice as a homoeopathic physician at Oldenburg.

 

In 1874, he wrote, “Therapies, which have such undefined boundaries, that they may at any time accept new remedies, and may likewise retain or reject old remedies, cannot offer the security necessary in the service of the patients and in the interest of science. To create a therapy with sharply defined boundaries has for a long time been my endeavour”.

 

In 1873, Schuessler published in “General Homoeopathic Journal”, the first treatise of his new healing system under the title – ‘An Abridged Therapy based on Physiology and Cellular Pathology’.

 

Schuessler was influenced by

  1. Rudolf Virchow – founder of Cellular Pathology, who taught that all diseases are based upon a change in function of cells in the body. The possibility of stimulating the cells forms the starting point of Schuessler’s doctrine.
  2. Professor Moleschott – who pointed out that the structure and vitality of the organs depends upon the presence of inorganic constituents.

 

Schuessler added his doctrine – Restoration of the cell and thereby of the body will result from restoration of the deficit of the inorganic salts. His system of treatment is called Biochemic Therapy. Biochemic salts are used in potentized form as the homoeopathic drugs. Schuessler’s therapy is concerned with the corporeal disorder. Schuessler may be called the “Father of Deficiency Therapy”.

 

Biochemic treatment consists of the use of twelve tissue salts – namely Calcarea fluoricum, Calcarea phosphoricum, Calcarea sulphuricum, Ferrum phosphoricum, Kali muriaticum, Kali phosphoricum, Kali sulphuricum, Magnesium phosphoricum, Natrum muriaticum, Natrum phosphoricum, Natrum sulphuricum and Silicea.