The Essence Of Materia Medica - 2nd Edition

This book by George Vithoulkassketches out the essence of 51 homoeopathic remedies. Sifting through the pages of this book the reader can draw out a clear portrait of the patient vividly that is with minute details. Each chapter is a description of the type of person most commonly affected by a remedy- for example, the Kalium carbonicum patient with a strong sense of duty heightened to an inflexible, rigid degree. A careful reader may pick up the common thread/theme going on all through the portrait of the remedy ie at all three levels of the patient, for example in Alumina, the theme of delayed action and slowness is visible at all the three levels. Many medicines are compared with other closely related medicines having similar symptoms which helps a student in grasping the contrast between two very similar remedies- the one skill required to efficiently prescribe homoeopathic medicines.
Dr Vithoulkas admits that a lot of the content has been taken from the Kent’s Materia Medica and Repertory. He has been able to show the evolution of remedy pictures in a very systematic manner, which helps the reader in understanding the core essence of the homeopathic medicines presented in this work.