SYNTHETIC REPERTORY

By BARTHEL and KLUNKER

· Many practitioners had found lacunae in Kent’s Repertory.

· Boger, Vithoulkas made significant additions to Kent’s Repertory.

· A need was felt to accommodate more rubrics and remedies, including mental symptoms

· BARTHEL and KLUNKER collected data from various possible sources and published SYNTHETIC REPERTORY in 1973, which was improved over in 1982. It was published in India in 1987.

· Barthel and Klunker considered Kent to be most complete and attempted to supplement and continue Kent’s Repertory. But they realized that the data was vast and could not be properly integrated with Kent’s. Hence, they published a separate repertory called Synthetic Repertory, although it was an extension of Kent’s repertory.

· Limited to General symptoms. Barthel considered Kent’s repertory ‘the best reference book’ for particulars.

PHILOSOPHICAL BACKGROUND

· Based on Generals – mental and prominent physical generals.

· Though the utility of particulars cannot be denied in homoeopathic practice, the generals acquire a higher place in case analysis.

· Synthetic repertory has been enriched with many qualified mental and physical generals.

· Prominent generals alone indicate the right medicine and the need of referring to particulars becomes unnecessary in their presence.

TYPOGRAPHY

CAPITAL UNDERLINED – 4 marks

CAPITAL – 3 marks

Bold – 2 marks

Ordinary – 1 mark

PLAN AND CONSTRUCTION

· Vol 1 – Mental Symptoms

· Vol 2 – Physical Generals

· Vol3 – Sleep, Dreams, Male and Female Sexual symptoms

TOTALITY

Concept of totality is based on Kent. Main importance is given to generals. Generals are the expressions of the constitution of a person. The prominent generals at mental and physical levels form the basis of totality in the whole case.

· Causative modalities

· Qualified emotional symptoms

· Qualified intellectual symptoms

· Behavior

· Physical generals

· Food and drink

· Sleep

· Dreams

· Sex

Special features

· Contains large number of rubrics – broad choice – facilitates selection of right rubrics

· 1594 drugs

· Obsolete drugs like Electricitas, Galvanism, etc are not retained

· Source of data is mentioned in each rubric – indicates authenticity of data

· It is synthesis of knowledge of 200 years

· A/F mentions all ailments in one rubric

· All rubrics of food and drink at one place

· Clinical rubrics added

· Errors of double entry and wrong nomenclature corrected

CRITICISM

· It is not a complete repertory, because of absence of particulars

· In 3 volumes – not useful for a quick bedside reference

· Includes many remedies that are not proved and data not available in Materia Medica

DR. SUMIT GOEL M.D. (Hom)

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