BLUE PRINT FOR A NEW REPERTORY-SYNTHESIS –8.1

AUTHOR & EDITOR
Dr. Frederik Schroyens started the project of making a repertory which is not only complete in all respects but also the highest quality of information.
This is an ever evolving project as new drugs are being proved, some drugs and symptoms are getting clinical confirmation and so on…..
He has given a concept how we can prepare a new repertory. He says, “This concept is a proposal”.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SYNTHESIS 7.1 AND 8.1
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SYNTHESIS 7.1 AND 8.1
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SYNTHESIS 7.1 AND 8.1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Foreword for Edition 8 by Frederik Schroyens.
 Acknowledgement.
 Introduction.
 Editing symptoms.
 Additions.
 Index of important changes and corrections.
 List of remedy abbreviations.
 List of author abbreviations.
 Appendix.
 Index of keywords.
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY OF REPERTORIES:
Dr. Hahnemann made few steps to form a repertory.
Dr. C.V. Boenninghausen – credited with creating the first usable repertory in 1832.
Allen, Jahr, Lippe etc. expanded on this repertory. Gentry and Knerr tried to create completely new structure.
Kent published a repertory with a structure and a hierarchical logic that would stand the test of time.
INTRODUCTION CONTD.
HISTORY OF REPERTORIES:
In 1973, Barthel and Klunker published the first edition of Synthetic repertory, adding information from 16 authors to the 5 main chapters of the Kent’s repertory, namely, Mind, Generalities, Sleep and dreams, Male and Female sexuality.
Then came Synthesis which is based on 6th American edition of Kent’s repertory.

HISTORY OF SYNTHESIS
Since 1987, Synthesis has been used as a data base for the RADAR program.
There has been various versions with constant additions.
The 5th version was the 1st printed version.
In the 8th version there are 10,71,000 author references.
Synthesis has been used world wide and integrating the feedback of the users has led to the qualitative improvement in its various versions.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS
 SYMPTOM FORMAT: A symptom is originally a sentence which is readable and normally structured. It needs to be restructured for the repertory.
Steps to restructure the symptom:
Original sentence: word1 word2 word3….
Step one: Chapter – define the chapter to which the symptom belongs. If more than one possibility insert a synonym in the less likely chapter.
Step two: Head rubric – decide which word is most important one and split the sentence in 2 parts, so that that word becomes word1.
e.g. Sleepiness after eating. (Sleep- Sleepiness - eating, after)

EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
Step three: Subrubrics – At this level decide which word is most important and split the remaining part of sentence into two parts, so that this word becomes word1 of this level.
This step is to be repeated as long as there are subrubrics to be created.
E.g. Anger with red spots in the face.
Chapter – Mind and Face. Mind is more appropriate. Thus:
1Mind – Anger with red spots in the face.
2Mind – Anger-with red spots in the face.
3Mind – Anger-Face; with red spots in the.
4Mind – Anger-Face-red spots in the face; with.

EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
Some other hints:
 Prepositions not to be in front, e.g. about, after, and, as if, at, between, but etc.
Previously ‘and’ was an exception, e.g.
Stomach – eructation, afternoon, and evening.
Now the preference is that the addition should be split into-
Stomach – eructation, afternoon.
Stomach – eructation, evening.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
 If there is coincidence of two modalities, there should be a modality expressing this.
E.g. Extremities – Pain; shoulder; accompanied by, cystitis.
 Avoid repeating unnecessary words with same meaning, especially at the following level.
E.g. Mind – Delusion; he thinks he is…..
 The part of the sentence is as readable as possible:
Either the words are readable in normal order word1 word2……
Or the sentence is split in maximum 2 parts, separated by “;” (begin reading after the sign “;”)
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
 The last level of the symptom is most important, as the symptom can be completed at this level.
E.g. –Excitement- heat, during as opposed to –excitement- heat, from.
- Excitement-heat-during heat; excitement.
- Excitement-heat-from excitement; heat.

EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
2 THE HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE OF THE REPERTORY:
Hierarchical structure of Kent’s repertory is maintained in Synthesis and all new repertories.
The one improvement done in Synthesis is:
Groups of symptoms – Symptoms are divided into groups which follow each other in same order:
Sides, Time, Modalities, Extensions, Localizations, Description of pain/ other descriptions.
This order of groups is repeated at each level if needed. E.g. Side- Time, Modalities, Extension.
Time- Side, Modalities, Extension.

EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
SIDES – One side
Alternating sides
Right
Left
In some chapters, the sides are considered as localizations: Head, External throat, Chest and abdomen. Thus ‘head-sides’ is placed after extension.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
Some new combinations formatted:
Extremities – Pain-shoulder
-right-accompanied by-leg; pain in left.
[Instead of -right and left]
-right-followed by-shoulder; pain in left.
[Instead of –right then left]
TIME – All time schedules are reformatted following the International time table “0-24h”.
All hours are expressed in numbers, but no other symptom is expressed in numbers. (e.g. Sixth rib but not 6th rib)
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
MODALITIES –
i) General- Agg. is often not mentioned. E.g. Head-pain-lying. To be read as “lying causes or aggravates head pain”.
However, any rubric which contains subrubric ‘amel’ and some other subrubrics must have ‘agg’ mentioned as a separate level.
Amel is most often the last level of a symptom to avoid any ambiguity.
e.g. Pain-stitching-walking-amel-open air.
Its not clearwalking amel or open air, so symptom changed as-
…….-walking-air, in open-amel.

EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
Food and drinks have 4 subrubrics: agg./ amel./ aversion/ desire.
For any further specification, it is included as a subrubric of these.
e.g. Generals-Food & drinks-olive-oil-agg. (wrong)
Generals-Food & drinks-oil-agg-olive (correct)
Prepositions are not mentioned when they don’t add to the meaning of the symptom. E.g. rising, on rising.
Modalities are sorted alphabetically.
ii) Alternations – The alternations are a modality and are sorted alphabetically in between the modalities, after air.
If two complaints are alternating the rubric with the remedies should be placed under the organ affected which is of vital importance.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
Other criteria for selecting the position of remedies –
Prefer more active or aggressive expression.
If alternation is involving a sensation in a localization, then first write the localization.
iii) Concomitants and sequence of symptoms –
The usual way of expressing concomitants is maintained. But in some cases the format of “accompanied by” is used.
e.g. Chill-accompanied by-hot breath.
In various stages of fever the format “accompanied by” is used to make one undersatnd the difference.
e.g. Stomach-vomiting-accompanied by-perspiration.
Stomach-vomiting-perspiration-during.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
Sometimes more than two features are relevant concomitants.
e.g. a white tongue with a black streak in the center accompanying liver disease.
Abdomen-Liver and region of liver; complaints of-accompanied by-tongue white, heavily coated and black streak down center
For certain sequence of symptoms, they can be formatted as-
Extremities-pain shoulder-right-followed by-shoulder; pain in left.
iv) Ailments – This is level 2 rubric in Mind and in Generals contains all symptoms which cause the person’s general health to deteriorate.
In majority of cases ‘ailments from’ is same as ‘aggravation’.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
v) Periodically recurring events – they are made subrubrics of rubric ‘periodical’ and most often occur at level 3.
e.g. Head-Pain-forehead-periodical-morning-alternating morning.
Period of time is indicated as a multiple of hours, days, weeks or months.
vi) Illogical superrubrics – Kent’s repertory has many superrubrics which donot make any sense for the subrubrics that depend on it. They have been modified to be clearly read and understood.
e.g. Extremities-drawing up limbs agg, amel.
Extremities-drawing up limbs-amel.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
vii) Modalities grouped under a global superrubric – Some modalities are not present one by one, but as subrubrics under a common heading. In this way symptoms can be found more easily at one place.
viii) Food and drinks (agg, amel, aversion, desire) – All other food modalities are subrubrics of the above said food modalities. Ailments from are kept as agg. only.
ix) Expressions of more than one word – If an expression has two or more words and can be understood when combined, then this modality is used as it is used in the common language.
e.g. mental exertion.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
x) Combined modalities – Several modalities refer to 2 or more modalities at the same time, e.g. cold air, warmth of bed, open air, draft of air etc.
In Kent’s repertory there are 14 symptoms with modality cold wet weather and 28 symptoms with cold damp weather. To solve this confusion, a format for ‘combined modalities’ has been elaborated.
xi) Synonymus rubrics – As a rule such rubrics are merged into only one rubric, present in more vital chapter and contains the remedies.
e.g. Mind-excitement-alternating with-convulsion.
Generals-convulsions-alternating with excitement.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
xii) Splitting of a symptom in more or less levels – Every level is split if it belongs to a different “group”, such as time, modality etc.
e.g. ‘noon after eating’; -noon-eating, after
EXTENSIONS (in pain section)-
Three types of information can follow ‘extending…..’
-extending (upward)
-extending to (back, …)
-extending into (heart, …)
The leading keyword of the level below ‘extending’ should be the localization of the extension and not specification of latter.

EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
The extension is always from origin to end
Some exceptions to this rule have been moved possibly to another chapter.
e.g. Urethra-Pain-drawing-extending to-anus-from anus.
Rectum-Pain-drawing-extending to-urethra. (Changed one)
LOCALIZATIONS – The first letter of a localization is always the upper case. E.g. Upper limbs.
Some rubrics generalize the complaints for a certain organ. If organ or region corresponds to the chapter then leading word will be ‘complaints’. E.g. Stomach-complaints of stomach.
Else the organ or region is the keyword. E.g. Abdomen-spleen; complaints of.
EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
DESCRIPTION OF PAIN – A description of pain occurs at level 3.
e.g. Head-pain-stitching.
If another description is added to the main one, the latter is sorted between the modalities.
e.g. Eye-pain-stitching-burning.
OTHER DESCRIPTIONS – In a limited number of rubrics, the modalities/extensions are followed by a 2nd alphabetically ordered group of symptoms. These are the descriptions of the characteristics of the symptom.
e.g. –vision-colors. -ear-noises. –nose-discharge.

EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
LANGUAGE OF THE REPERTORY – Repertory uses a more limited vocabulary which is different from Materia medica and patient’s language.
Preferred words, expression and spelling: Spelling of words of 19th century American English have been replaced by modern American English, using Webster Dictionary.
For medical expressions more commonly used disease names are preferred.
Attempt to avoid ambiguity by using correct words and expression for each symptom.



EDITING OF SYMPTOMS CONTD.
Combining similar rubrics – different rubrics should exist if they express a difference.
e.g. Mind-money, from losing  Ailments-money; loss of.
Mind-ailments-punishment  Punishment-agg mental symptoms.
Cross refrences, synonyms and referring rubrics – Cross references are rubrics with remedies referring to other rubrics with remedies.
Synonyms follow the master synonym to which they relate. E.g. Discontented (displeased, dissatisfied)
Referring rubrics do not belong to the above said groups. They are kind of “explanatory referring rubrics”.
ADDITIONS
It was believed that there is no additions should be made to Kent’s repertory but today there is little doubt to the necessaty of additions, but one should be “fastidious about correct additions”.
The sources: i) Current additions – repertories, Materia medica, hahnemann’s symptoms, Kent’s Materia medica, Hering’s encyclopedia, Allen’s encyclopedia, Robert’s sensations as if etc. also clinical observations from different living authorities.
ii) Future additions – most productive contributions
ADDITIONS
The criteria to make an addition –
 Confidence in additions.
 Literature Vs words.
 Proving Vs clinical experience.
Procedure for additions –
 Addition of a remedy.
 Addition of a symptom.
INDEX FOR IMPORTANT CHANGES AND CORRECTIONS –
1. On remedies – i) Proposed rules for remedy abbreviations.
ii)Comparing lists of remedy abbreviations.
2. On symptoms – i) general remarks, ii) remarks by chapter.