In 2007, the company ARCANA Dr Sewerin GmbH & Co KG celebrated its 50th anniversary. To honour the occasion they decided in favour of a publication that looks back into the past: a history of the LM-potencies from their irst beginnings to the present day. A survey of this kind does not exist yet in the history of homoeopathy and there are also hardly any previous studies to fall back on. What causes additional diiculties is that there is still no consensus on the ultra high potencies. The historian must therefore steer clear of any partiality and critically evaluate the wide-spread hand-written and printed source materials. The author hopes that he has achieved this and that he has contributed to avoiding any further fictionalisation in this field. To avoid confusion it needs to be pointed out that the terminology around the 50 millesimal potencies has remained inconsistent. It varies depending on the manufacturer, for historical reasons, with some producers using the abbreviation ‘Q’ and others the original name ‘LM-potencies’. The official German pharmacopoeia Homöopathisches Arzneibuch (HAB) allows both names and only makes sure that the manufacturing speciications are consistent. he term ‘Q-potency’ (from Lat. quinquaginta milia = 50,000) that is commonly used today traces back to Jost Künzli von Fimmelsberg (1915–1992). Rudolf Flury (1903–1977), who rediscovered Hahnemann’s 50 millesimal potencies preferred the abbreviation ‘LM’ (from the Roman numerals L for 50 and M for 1,000). ARCANA Dr Sewerin GmbH & Co KG and other manufacturers therefore follow a tradition if they use this name .
Robert Jütte The L M potencies in homoeopathy: From their beginnings to the present day .
Bielefeld. Dr. Robert Jütte. Gütersloh. Sewerin GmbH & Co. Typeset in Minion Pro. Layout: meier stracke_büro für gestaltung. KG.Translated by Margot Saar © English edition: Prof. Rights for all Translations into all languages except English: ARCANA Arzneimittelherstellung Dr. D-70184 Stuttgart. FF Fago . Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. Straussweg 17.
It varies depending on the manufacturer. What causes additional difficulties is that there is still no consensus on the ultra high potencies. To avoid confusion it needs to be pointed out that the terminology around the 50 millesimal potencies has remained inconsistent.7 Introduction In 2007. the company ARCANA Dr Sewerin GmbH & Co KG celebrated its 50th anniversary. quinquaginta milia = 50. The historian must therefore steer clear of any partiality and critically evaluate the wide-spread hand-written and printed source materials. who rediscovered Hahnemann’s 50 millesimal potencies preferred the abbreviation ‘LM’ (from the Roman numerals L for 50 and M for 1. with some producers using the abbreviation ‘Q’ and others the original name ‘LM-potencies’. The term ‘Q-potency’ (from Lat.000). . ARCANA Dr Sewerin GmbH & Co KG and other manufacturers therefore follow a tradition if they use this name. To honour the occasion we decided in favour of a publication that looks back into the past: a history of the LM-potencies from their first beginnings to the present day. The author hopes that he has achieved this and that he has contributed to avoiding any further fictionalisation in this field. A survey of this kind does not exist yet in the history of homoeopathy and there are also hardly any previous studies to fall back on.000) that is commonly used today traces back to Jost Künzli von Fimmelsberg (1915 – 1992). Rudolf Flury (1903 – 1977). for historical reasons. The official German pharmacopoeia Homöopathisches Arzneibuch (HAB) allows both names and only makes sure that the manufacturing specifications are consistent.
8 The LM potencies in homoeopathy In the interest of consistency we use ‘Q-potencies’ or ‘50 millesimal potencies’ in the following text (apart from in quotations). Summer 2007 Professor Robert Jütte PhD . Stuttgart.
The sensational information released to his readers. however. whose clear mind could not even be clouded by his great age. for instance ‘to . Let us look at the actual wording: “The news that we will soon be in possession of the writings which our master has left behind. incensed Hahnemann’s widow.) and some carefully phrased criticism of Hahnemann’s potentisation techniques. a notice appeared in the German journal Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung that could easily have been overlooked by a careless reader. without doubt. Mélanie d’ Hervilly (1800–1878). Even the present-day reader discerns its contentious nature.9 The Mystery of Hahnemann’s Q-potencies On 28th July 1856. Many beautiful cases of healing are. but that he had considerably augmented it. which will be of the greatest service for present and future generations of homoeopaths once they have come to light. In a letter he prescribed. the author reveals one of the best-kept secrets of homoeopathy of those days: “By chance I gained insight into some of his last written prescriptions and I found to my astonishment that at that time he was not satisfied any more with the 30 potency and the customary diluting method. A wealth of theoretical experience can be expected from the publication of the writings of such an astute and inspired thinker and observer. Only in one respect Hahnemann seems to have gone somewhat too far during the last years of his life: I am alluding to his potentisation theory.”1 After his safe-guarding clause (faithful and reverential student etc. hidden in Hahnemann’s Paris journals. across the Rhine. will bring joy to the heart of any person who is penetrated by the truth of our teachings and who – as the writer of these lines – is filled with great respect for their founder. The author conceals his identity behind the initials NE.
10 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 1: Anonymous newpaper article about the Q-potencies .
however.’”2 The author had obviously gained access to Hahnemann’s case journals by accident. i. In a still unpublished letter written in French to Bönninghausen and dated 8th September 1856. It must therefore have been through him that the unknown author gained insight into the case Plate 2: Hahnemann’s case journals in the IGM journals.The Mystery of Hahnemann’s Q-potencies 11 dilute one globule of remedy in 15 teaspoons of water.e. to whose attention the article in the Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung (AHZ) naturally had to come. only . These were. seems to have suspected this as well. then to add one teaspoon of this to a large bottle full of water. shake it and give one teaspoon of this final mixture to the patient. jealously guarded by Mélanie d’ Hervilly in Paris and nobody was allowed to see them apart from Hahnemann’s favourite pupil Clemens Maria von Bönninghausen (1785–1864). Mélanie.
. In this letter. incorrect as the Roman numeral LM would denote the number 950 rather than 50. whose knowledge and “clarity of thought” he could not praise enough.3 The name ‘Q-potency’. which is used today. quinquaginta milia).6 The notice in the AHZ concludes with the hope being expressed that the long expected 6th edition of the Organon might at last bring clarity about the new potentisation methods and the author emphasises that in his view the planned publication was well placed in Bönninghausen’s hands. however. Bönninghausen did not succeed either. This is why Will Klunker (1923–2002) and other classical homoeopaths always supported ‘Q’ as the only legitimate abbreviation for the 50 millesimal potencies (Lat.000. Where other homoeopaths had failed. But the author of this statement was mistaken. was introduced by Jost Künzli von Fimmelsberg (1915–1992).12 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 3: Clemens von Bönninghausen a few weeks after publication of the above mentioned journal.4 Rudolf Flury (1903–1977) had preferred the abbreviation LM5 which is. she vented her anger and accused him of having disclosed confidential information to a third party. the Q-potencies – as they are called now – were mentioned for the first time by name: divisions infinitésemales (infinitesimal dilutions).
three years after this incident. In 1859.The Mystery of Hahnemann’s Q-potencies 13 Plate 4: Mélanie d’Hervilly’s letter to Bönninghausen namely in convincing Mélanie to make Hahnemann’s literary legacy available to the followers of his teachings. Bönninghausen published an article on .
”8 The veil of secrecy that shrouded these so called médicaments au globule or 50 millesimal potencies was first partly lifted in 1921 by the Stuttgart homoeopath and Hahnemann-biographer Richard Haehl (1873–1932) when he published the last hand edition of the Organon. the wife of one of Bönninghausen’s sons.9 A year previously he had managed. Haehl used one of the two copies for his edition of the 6th edition published by Willmar Schwabe in 1921. had commissioned in 1879. In return for their generous financial help Haehl gave his American benefactors the original manuscript of the 6th edition of the Organon while he held on to a copy which Mélanie d’ Hervilly had had drawn up already in 1865. Ward (1861–1939). He states that he and other homoeopaths had used these with great success and emphatically refers to Hahnemann. to buy Hahnemann’s bequest (including the Organon manuscript) from the Bönninghausen family who had been owners of this “treasure” since Mélanie’s death in 1878. but rather confines himself to the cryptic remark that “the progress he made in this field in the years leading up to his death is only known to his close friends. Both copies . The copy might also be one which Mélanie’s adopted daughter Sophie. with the financial support of the American homoeopaths William Boericke (1849–1929) and James W. to whose number we have the fortune to belong. in which he describes his positive experiences with high potencies (> C 30) and expresses his hope that Hahnemann’s widow might soon publish the 6th edition of the Organon because it would include the description of a “new dynamisation method relating to high potencies […] more powerful than any previous preparations.”7 Two years later another article by Bönninghausen appeared in the same journal in which he again defends the high potencies. Bönninghausen does not mention which very high dosages Hahnemann had prescribed to his patients during the last decade of his life.14 The LM potencies in homoeopathy homoeopathic posology.
The Mystery of Hahnemann’s Q-potencies 15 Plate 5: Bönninghausen on posology .
16 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 6: Cover Page of the 6th edition of the Organon .
Haehl also mentions that according to Hahnemann’s then still existing medicine chest these remedies were produced in ten different potencies.biography the latter remarks: “Hahnemann called remedy potencies that were produced in this new way Médicaments au globule as opposed to the Médicaments à la goutte which were produced using an earlier system and whose potency grades he used to express in Roman numerals. His premature death prevented him from publishing Hahnemann’s case journals.13 Which potentisation Hahnemann preferred. 3. Schmidt’s text-critical 1992 publication of the Organon’s 6th edition is based on this still existent original manuscript which shows only few gaps in comparison to one of the copies that were available to Haehl for his edition. The original which Boericke used as the basis for his American translation of the Organon10 eventually found its way into the library of the University of California in 1971 and is still there today. when and in which cases he resorted to the controversial Q-potencies14 and how often he actually used them Haehl was unable to disclose.The Mystery of Hahnemann’s Q-potencies 17 have been considered lost ever since. 5 etc. For the new remedy preparations on globules he used Arabic numerals with a little ring above (1. Josef M. The initial inability to recognize what was new in the 6th edition of the Organon became apparent also in a controversy fought in the British Homoeopathic Journal shortly after the publication of .)”12.11 Neither Boericke in the preface to his translation nor Haehl in the introduction to his edition refer to the significance of the new potentisation method described in § 270 of the 6th edition for Hahnemann’s therapeutic practice in the last years of his life and for homoeopathic pharmacotherapy in general. Only in his very comprehensive Hahnemann. (1861–1942) had bought off him still during his lifetime. 2. They are not with Haehl’s collection which the German industrialist Robert Bosch sen. which had not been published before and had originally not been intended for publication at all.
18 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 7: Original page from the 6th edition of the Organon .
The Mystery of Hahnemann’s Q-potencies 19 Plate 8: Title page of Boericke’s translation .
But they did not see a connection to the completely new manufacturing method also described in § 270. probably in order not to add fuel to the debate on high potencies which had already divided the homoeopathic movement for a long time and presented a potential target for the representatives of conventional medicine.15 The historiography of homoeopathy which did not only begin with Richard Haehl16 also tried to downplay Hahnemann’s new edition of § 270. Tyler) had obviously read that.17 Rudolf Tischner (1879–1961) only mentions the Q-potencies in one single sentence in his Geschichte der Homöopathie (published between 1932 and 1939).20 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 9: Richard Haehl Boerick’s translation. Hahnemann had been convinced of the necessity to increase the potency by succussion of the daily administered remedy. during the last years of his life.19 . The followers of Kent (Weir Borland. concluding that the new manufacturing method “carried on with the dilution”.18 His 1950 short history describes § 270 as a “spiritualist approach in the purest form”. They called their own approach the ‘plus-method’ and simply applied it to high potencies that were common at the time.
And if the children feel better one does not have to tell the parents: ‘Reduce the dose’. I made up my entire pharmacy and I give LM-potencies. After his residency in Rorschach hospital he settled down in 1934 as a homoeopathic doctor in Berne. It was in 1942 that he discovered something that would decisively influence his approach to therapy. they will just forget about it. He describes this in a later published lecture: “I did not discover the ‘LM-potencies’. He graduated from medical school in Zurich and received his doctorate in 1928 with a non-homoeopathic thesis (“Graham’s Cholecystography test results at the Kantonspital in Zurich”). I re-discovered them. because there were no pharmacies at the time to do it for you. in 1942.21 Rediscovering the Q-potencies for the homoeopathic practice It is astonishing that almost 20 years passed before a homoeopath seriously looked at Hahnemann’s latest posology and drew from it for his own therapeutic practice. A hundred years later. A child is given one globule of sulphur LM 30 in the morning and one in the evening. You can give LM safely every day. I very rarely give a centesimal or decimal potency. I then proceeded to make up the remedies myself. The credit of having rediscovered the Q-potencies for 20th and 21st century homoeopathy belongs to the abovementioned Swiss physician Dr Rudolf Flury (1903–1977). You don’t have to worry: once people feel better they forget about taking their . Hahnemann discovered them and his wife Mélanie prepared them. I noticed the large footnote to § 270 in the 6th edition of the Organon. During his last years in Paris Hahnemann probably administered mostly LM-potencies.
1955 .26 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 11: Adolf Voegeli: Heilkunst in neuer Sicht.
it is best to take the homoeopathic remedy in the morning when the concentration of the allopathic drug in the blood is at its lowest. To this I add 20cc of 90% camphor-free alcohol as a preservative. Under these conditions I take a 300cc flask and fill it up to 280cc with ordinary water.”33 Initially. The author generally administers the Q-potency every second evening. two drops after strictly shaking ten times. as well. such as anti-epileptic drugs. where Kent’s method cannot be used or where it does not work. The patient is given a powder capsule which contains milk sugar to which a globule of size no. he also provides information about the special medication when using Q-potencies: “If the allopathic drug is given in the evening. 7 days and where a two hourly repetition within 16 of 24 hours is indicated: 1. in order to change the drug picture and to avoid testing the drug. Here he describes the treatment of common acute cases with Q-potencies: “This is the example of a case where the treatment will presumably take about 6. With the handle of a knife or something . 3.Rediscovering the Q-potencies for the homoeopathic practice 27 “And in inventing high dynamisation Kent has created a method that is so simple and uncomplicated in its use and achieves such outstanding results that one only has to prescribe the Q-potencies in exceptional cases. 2. Here. 00 is added that has been saturated with the remedy.34 From an essay he wrote in 1962 we learn that Schmidt despite his preference for high C-potencies. Pierre Schmidt’s wife Dora Nagel. prepared his high potencies (up to MM) in their own laboratory. I personally use the Q-potency twice or three times a year.”32 In another context Schmidt made a similar statement explaining that he used Q-potencies only for patients who were taking allopathic medicines. a qualified pharmacist. had ample therapeutic experience with Q-potencies.
quasi un déséquilibré”. he writes in his memoirs looking back over fifty years as a homoeopathic practitioner.”35 Pierre Schmidt was fully aware of the fact that the mostly scientific and critically minded German homoeopaths of the 1950s and 60s would not be open to these dosages.28 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 12: Pierre Schmidt similar I crush the globule into the milk sugar in the capsule. by them. each time shaking the flask ten times so that each teaspoon contains a liquid that has been manually dynamized to a higher scale. even a lunatic. Before each use the patient has to shake the flask ten times by holding it in one hand and hitting it against the other. while the capsule rests on any kind of hard surface (marble. 5. a hard table top etc. 6. found- . He then has to take one teaspoon of the mixture every two hours. At the moment of taking the medicine the patient shakes the content of the capsule into the flask with the water/alcohol mixture where it dissolves. 4. He had already been declared a “visionnaire.). just because he had defended the high potencies. that is a nutcase.36 It is little wonder then that in Germany initially only the Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie. It would be worse if he tried to justify even higher potencies.
whose editor at the time was Heinz Schoeler. because I am convinced that they have certain advantages. His courses on homoeopathy on the North Sea island of Spiekeroog made him an influential teacher in Germany. an experience which led him to pronounce the following positive verdict in 1956: “I cannot get myself to see the quinqua-millesimal potencies merely as a historical curiosity.Rediscovering the Q-potencies for the homoeopathic practice 29 ed in 1957. In a contribution to the Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie Künzli writes at length about the manufacture and use of the Q-potencies. Gallen where he offered training courses for prospective homoeopaths. From 1949 he began. to produce and use Q-potencies of antipsoric remedies. Almost two decades before that. but not the Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung. much sooner: in 1960. partly in collaboration with his teacher. In 1946. Klaus-Henning Gypser and Manfred von Unger-Sternberg. Gallen that had produced three generations of homoeopathy supporters. in fact. Künzli translated Kent’s textbook Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy into German. And he adds his own practical therapeutic experiences: . It was then that he had discovered the mysterious § 270. Another Swiss homoeopath must be mentioned in the context of the rediscovery of the Q-potencies for homoeopathic use: Jost Künzli von Fimmelsberg (1915–1992). which he had helped to translate into French. wrote about Hahnemann’s Q-potencies. he settled down in St. As soon as I can look back over about ten years of experience I will happily share it. he learned from Pierre Schmidt about the Kentian approach to homoeopathy. He came from a doctors’ family in St. In 1947.”37 He did this. Among his students were Otto Eichelberger (1918-2005). he had helped Pierre Schmidt with his French translation of the 6th edition of the Organon. In 1973. He starts by describing the manufacturing process in detail following the instructions in § 270 of the 6th edition.
the patient takes one small tea spoon full (= 5ccm)..38 This procedure is very similar to the one described by Pierre Schmidt. In this way the stock is each time dynamized to a higher scale. Two day later. the patient has to crush the small globule into the milk sugar. for example. Ask the patient to take both items home. It is also remarkable that Künzli increases the Q-po- . At home.] Once this has happened one tablespoon of the stock is stirred into a glass of fresh water. the patient repeats this procedure in exactly the same way […]”. The patient has to take the vial into one hand and shake it ten times vigorously against the palm of the other hand.30 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 13: James Tyler Kent “Add one globule of the chosen potency – usually beginning with Q1 – to some milk sugar in a paper capsule.. a knife handle. Then fill a 150cc vial (10 tablespoons) to approx.. The rest of the liquid in the glass is discarded and the glass thoroughly cleaned. This makes the stock from which the individual dosages are taken. [. 1/10 wine spirit (95% alcohol) so that the water will keep longer.. 8/10 with tap water (if not chlorinated!) and add approx. Once the spoonful of stock has been thoroughly mixed with the water. The glass should have about the same size as the vial with the stock. and then pour the entire content of the capsule into the vial. [.] In cases of chronic disease it is sufficient to take the remedy every second evening before going to bed. using.
Dorcsi discovered the Q-potencies for his therapeutic practice.”39 In 1989. he founded the Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute for Homoeopathy in Vienna. He had started his homoeopathic studies with Hartmut Oemisch (1901–1992) in 1953 and had founded the Austrian association of homoeopathic physicians in the same year. on the one hand because they could not understand why they should throw away an efficacious medicine and. presumably the wife of Pierre Schmidt.40 One of the pioneers of the re-introduction of Q-potencies into homoeopathy was the Austrian Mathias Dorcsi (1923–2001). on the contrary: When introducing the new English translation of the 6th edition of the Organon at the 1981 Liga Congress in Rome he said: “In France and Germany practitioners. such as giving one globule onto the tongue. Dorcsi also used Kentian high potencies which he received from “M[adam?]e. Manufacturers. on the other hand. Other application methods. In 1975. both qualified and unqualified. and now the world is awash in them. 20 years later. skilled and unskilled alike. adopted the 50 millesimals with fervour. At the end of the 1950s. Künzli commented for the last time on the Q-potencies. In an essay for the Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie the Austrian homoeopath describes his initial difficulties when using Q-potencies in his practice: “I painstakingly followed the instructions but met with resistance on the part of my patients. inspired by Rudolf Flury who also supplied him with the first samples. Schmidt”. began to sell them.Rediscovering the Q-potencies for the homoeopathic practice 31 tencies by two stages when treating chronically ill patients. are also mentioned in this contribution to a homoeopathic journal which saw itself as the mouthpiece of the “classical” approach. In an essay for the Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie he wondered whether Hahnemann had been inspired by Constantin Hering to experiment with the new potentisation. because so many of my patients . Künzli no longer had any reason to complain about the homoeopaths’ lack of interest in Hahnemann’s new dynamizing technique.
R. nosodes and drainage products are needed much less frequently. In his essay. the two latter being students of Pierre Schmidt.] develops. changing to Q12 after about five weeks and then to Q30. one of Voegeli’s students.32 The LM potencies in homoeopathy travel and find the 150ccm flask impractical. Dorcsi wrote to experienced colleagues to ask their advice. Dorcsi also explains where his Q-potencies came from. His list of contacts reads like a Who’s Who of the Q-potency pioneers. Apart from the homoeopaths already mentioned: Künzli von Fimmelsberg. But he also knew of colleagues who started with the Q30 and then moved on to Q60 and Q90. Rudolf Flury and Adolf Voegeli.”42 In cases of chronic disease Dorcsi also principally started with a Q6-potency. so they left it at home. Pierre Schmidt. I (just as all other reporters) use the 6th LM as a matter of principle and give 5 drops on the tongue or dissolved in water once or in repetition after 2 or 3 hours. J. […] Even though the other potencies . Dorcsi summarizes his experiences with the Q-potencies in the treatment of acute. Laudenberg (*1915).e. most of them could not understand the scale of dilution.”41 Disillusioned. Apart from Rudolf Flury. an organ or tissue lesion. Jacques Baur (1920–2003) and Hanns C. But no-one can say that I did not have enough contact with my patients. the company StaufenPharma and the pharmacy Spaich & Pfänder in Göppingen/Germany he mentions ARCANA as the company who supplied the majority of his globules. His experiments with Q-potencies for all kinds of diseases led Dorcsi to draw the following conclusion: “I am convinced that the use of the highly effective LM potencies means that interim medication. he lists Ernst H. Finally. not life threatening conditions as follows: “Since using LM potencies I experience the same fast effect and the advantage of dose repetition if this should become necessary in case histiostasis [i. Schmeer (1921–1997).
one will be forced from time to time in practice to use reliable organotropic preparations such as crataegus. one can achieve a fast effect with C-potencies. Also invited were . Künzli and Eichelberger – Georg von Keller (1919–2003) from Tübingen and Martin Stübler (1915–1989). Laudenberg. 1965 – Hahnemann’s 210th birthday – the Bavarian branch of the Zentralverein homöopathischer Ärzte in Germany held a meeting in which focused mainly on Q-potencies. On April 10. second chairman of the German central association of homoeopathic physicians from 1960 to 1975.Rediscovering the Q-potencies for the homoeopathic practice 33 Plate 14: Guidelines for the usage of Q-potencies in the late 1950s will not be necessary because of the universality of the LM potencies. Among the speakers were – apart from the aforementioned protagonists Dorcsi.. solidago etc. the Q-potencies had clearly ceased to be only a topic for a small circle of homoeopaths keen on experimenting. In the mid-1960s. berberis.”43 Dorcsi clearly shows himself to be a student of Flury who nevertheless did not lose sight of Pierre Schmidt’s Kentian orientation. and in cases where the general mood indicates this.
if the kind of sensitive or hypersensitive patients that are so common today. one had better refrain from using LM potencies. Secondly. were given one or more wrong remedies in a row which could lead to a lasting impregnation with drug symptoms. who. in his conference report. a method favoured by Dorcsi and Keller: the homoeopath dissolves the globule that is saturated with the LM potency in a 20% alcoholic solution so that the patient merely has to take drops of the remedy at home after having shaken the flask first.34 The LM potencies in homoeopathy pharmacists who had already specialised in the manufacture of Q-potencies at this early stage: Dr Sewerin. founder of ARCANA. Wolfgang Spaich. who had opened a pharmacy at the ‘Neckar Gate’ in Tübingen in 1958 and later on worked closely with Dr Georg Keller on the manufacture of Q-potencies. in 1956 had founded Staufen-Pharma in Göppingen together with Harald Pfänder MD. because one gives the remedy for quite a long time in classical therapy and there was a great risk that the case would be spoilt. No opponents of the high potencies seemed to be present at this meeting and Max Tiedemann (1914–1998). board member of the German federal association of the pharmaceutical industry and chairman of the department for phytotherapy. […] If one could not be sure of a thing (especially if working without repertory). In the face of the homoeopaths’ growing enthusiasm for the Q-potencies. Künzli also accepted the arguments . especially in the German speaking world.”44 A detailed discussion followed about the intake mode and two procedures were presented: firstly the one we know from Künzli where the patient is given a flask and a globule with a capsule of a milk sugar powder to take home and to mix and shake according to the instructions of the homoeopath. as well as Dr Friedrich Zinsser. one of the main representatives of this new approach deemed it necessary to hold up a warning finger: “Mr Künzli strongly cautioned against this LM commotion. praised the professional atmosphere and the productive discussion.
Some agreed with Künzli and started with Q1. like Georg von Keller. began with Q18 and then prescribed the next higher potency. others followed Dorcsi and gave Q6 straight away.Rediscovering the Q-potencies for the homoeopathic practice 35 against giving out globules. . They were not just pragmatic ones. but had also to do with the restricted dispensing rights that applied to most German homoeopaths. There was also no consensus on the sequence of the Q-potencies. Then there was a group of those who.
just a few weeks before his death. and will satisfy you in every respect.45 The Swiss homoeopath who was at that time intensely involved with the ‘rediscovered’ Q-potencies had noticed a few years earlier that the inconspicuous essay title Drei Cautelen Hahnemanns concealed a first indubitable allusion to the use of Hahnemann’s 50 millesimal potencies.36 The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals At the 1956 Hahnemann Jubilee Congress in Stuttgart Jost Künzli gave a lecture which centred on a publication by Bönninghausen which had appeared in Stapf ’s Archives. in French at least.”47 . The writer also deemed it necessary to explain incomprehensible passages to the reader. I wish that your salubrious practice will continue to flourish and I draw your attention to the sixth edition of my Organon which will.46 The publication of Hahnemann’s casuistics by his friend and pupil Bönninghausen did not only present a puzzle to the editor Ernst Stapf who himself had added question marks to the printed version in several places. Faced with this unusual situation Bönninghausen had no choice but to try and solve the puzzle because he obviously also found it difficult to understand Hahnemann’s therapeutic approach in the two cases about which he had been personally informed. On 24th March 1843. Hahnemann had sent a letter to Bönninghausen (not in his own handwriting) telling him among other things: “Enclosed I send you extracts from a couple of cases which are not the most instructive yet. But let us first look at the events leading up to this publication. God willing. soon be published.
48 He also stressed that he had made every effort to produce a “diplomatically faithful copy” at the risk of irritating the reader with “some not generally known notations”. He asked homoeopathic physician Dr Simon-Félix-Camille Croserio (1786 – 1855) who had also been present at Hahnemann’s deathbed to help him solve the puzzle of the mysterious text passages. as we know. clearly evasive the reason being that she thought it inappropriate (pas convenable) to publish anything to do with this discovery anywhere else but in the 6th edition of the Organon of which it was a part. Bönninghausen found the cases he had been told about so important that he decided to publish them shortly after Hahnemann’s death.The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 37 Only address (“To my friend Bönninghausen”) and signature are in Hahnemanns own hand. He was obviously too weakened by his illness to put a three page letter onto paper. Her answer was. and hardly more has become known of the healings of the deceased master”. He pointed out the “soon to be expected sixth edition of the Organon which Hahnemann had completed before his demise”. He published a German translation of Croserio’s letter in the next issue of the Archiv für die homöopathische Heilkunst asserting that he had only omitted personal passages. We reproduce the beginning of this letter here because it throws new light on Mélanie’s secretiveness: “Dear Sir and honoured colleague! Your letter was such a pleasant surprise that I find it difficult to express my gratitude warmly enough to show the great pleasure I took in the benevolent expressions of a man who … . In his introduction he pointed out that “only very little. Bönninghausen was forced to take a different route.”50 . due to the unyielding attitude of the widow Mélanie d’Hervilly.49 As publication of the 6th edition was delayed. however. I immediately went to Madame Hahnemann to ask her about the preparation of the medicines which our most honoured master thought of most highly in the last years and to which he adjusted his method.
38 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 15: Bönningshausen: Drei Cautelen .
was familiar with the manufacturing guidelines in paragraphs 247 to 248 of the 6th edition of the Organon. in cases of acute as well as chronic illness”. In his view. was not content with this answer from his informant in Paris. Hahnemann had never – not during his time in Paris either – departed from his own rule of using “at any time only the known little globules which are usually saturated in the 30th dilution. As far as he was aware.53 Jost Künzli who. Bönninghausen himself refers to allusions Hahnemann had made to a C60 potency as the regular dose. through his translation work for Pierre Schmidt. It also means that Bönninghausen had no idea as yet that Hahnemann had actually moved on to a wholly new potentisation method: the 50 millesimals. however. which don’t include a potentisation grade. This means that Bönninghausen consequentially interpreted all passages in the two case histories he had been given. was the first to succeed in making sense of the new notation that Bönning- . the problem was not so much the remedy preparation but Hahnemann’s clearly unusual notation of the potentisation scale. he decided to try speculation on the one hand (higher number of succussions than before) and on the other hand not to attach too much importance to the matter.The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 39 As Croserio also only received an evasive answer to his question about the new preparation method for homoeopathic remedies which Hahnemann was said to have developed during the last years of his life. It was the labelling of the different potencies that he felt “left him in the dark”. At that point in time only Mélanie knew more and she did her level best to keep this secret because she feared that her beloved husband’s reputation among homoeopathy supporters would suffer because of the unusual potency grade. because he was convinced that nothing had changed in the dosage sizes. as Croserio had suggested.51 Bönninghausen.52 Bönninghausen also doubted that Hahnemann had really used the C30 potency. as referring to the standard size.
40 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 16: Hahnemann’s letter to Bönninghausen of 24 /3 /1843 .
Hahnemann then changed to a Q1 potency of merc. in the course of more than 40 years of homoeopathic practice. as the notation “merc. and after stirring 1 teaspoon to be taken early”54 as referring to a Q-potency. discovered Bönninghausens cryptic publication as the key to Hahnemann’s development of potentisation and took it upon himself to look up the original passages in Hahnemann’s Paris journals. He found the second case history. a homoeopathic practitioner57. viv. How he had gradually.The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 41 hausen. Yet. arrived at ever higher dilutions (first to C30 and finally to C200) before he finally developed the “médicaments au globules”. as we know. new dynamisation” in this way. of a 33-year old actor. Hahnemann changed to a Q2 potency of the same medicine. (2/0) of the second such dynamisation” most likely indicates. He understood the words “lessened dynamisation in 7 tablespoons. even more conclusive. viv. only experimented with these extreme dilutions during the last ten years of his life. Hanspeter Seiler. and .55 It took another 20 years. because Hahnemann. a fact which cannot be doubted because Hahnemann had used the common abbreviation for the dosages and also because he had added the comment “of the lowest former dynamisation”. Croserio and Stape were still puzzling over. After 10 days. before Swiss homoeopath. had first been given a Q1 potency of belladonna. according to Flury who interpreted the notation “1 glob. two practitioners tried to find out in 1992 independently of each other on the basis of Hahnemann’s publications and of a few individual case journals: Peter Barthel. The partial publication of the early case journals56 initiated by Heinz Henne (1923–1988) at the beginning of the 1960s could not satisfy the homoeopaths’ burning curiosity either. after shaking 1 tablespoon thereof in a glass of water. Hahnemann had worked with higher potentisation scales already before he moved to Paris. though. This patient first received belladonna C30. of lowest. Due to the instruction in the Organon to begin with the lowest potencies he concluded that patient Julie M.
J.g. R.61 One difference in the notation is. as the publication of the Paris Journals shows. one keeps on coming across discrepancies in Hahnemann’s practice that need to be explained. an indication of time).59 But. He first established that the copy which Bönninghausen had received from Hahnemann in 1843 was mostly identical with the original and showed only minimal deviations. however helpful this graph might be. Bönninghausen writes: “calls my name and desires to kiss a lady present [this can only refer to Mélanie. We know now that Bönninghausen also took liberties with his own case histories in order to hide errors or to present healing successes in a more positive light. more serious: we do not find the expressions “lessened dynamisation” or “of the lowest former dynamisation” in the original journals.58 Barthel’s diagram of the individual developmental stages provides a particularly clear picture although it is not entirely uncontroversial. Other discrepancies might have to do with Bönninghausen attempting to conceal from the reader that Mélanie had been actively involved in case registrations. already at the time.] recognized me. Apparently unaware of Künzli’s study from the 1950s he set out – and managed – to find the two case histories that had been published by Bönninghausen in the original journals which. J. One occasionally finds it in the relevant literature. for example. however. They were obviously added either by Hahnemann . contains some added comments relating to the anamnesis (e. R. only a study of the 17 still existing case journals from Hahnemann’s Paris years can reveal when he first demonstrably used the Q-potencies. While the original reads: “She [the patient.60 Hanspeter Seiler was the first researcher to undertake a random examination of the French Journals in order to find out more about the Q-potencies.]”.42 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Karl-Otto Sauerbeck. The printed version. could be accessed for research purposes at the Institute for the History of Medicine of the Robert Bosch Foundation. Yet. a philologically trained medical historian. called me by my name and desired to kiss me”.
The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 43 Plate 17: Hanspeter Seiler. Hahnemann’s medical practice (1988) .
the editor. according to Seiler in the 5th Q-potency. Tamin was treated with sulphur. Must refrain from drinking black tea and coffee. We also learn that the architect had had a lot of work recently. One case history which had remained unknown until then was that of the 33-year-old architect Charles Tamin. Other parts of his body did not seem to be affected. Had suffered from chancre which was cauterized with silver nitrate. Very easily sexually aroused. We read that the patient had suffered from psoriasis from an early age. What follows was written by Hahnemann himself: “The rash consists in small pustules on the calves which are very itchy in the night. but willing to find the right measure. in his opinion. The description begins in Mélanie’s handwriting.44 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 18: Hahnemann’s case journals or somebody else (Mélanie?) to explain the unusual dosage of these remedies. For 30 years. Seiler published five case descriptions from the early 1840s where. but they do not say much about the manufacturing process.”62 – We can only give a summary of the anamnesis here. All in all. Hahnemann had administered different Q-potencies. including the two that Bönninghausen had published already without recognizing them for what they were. It was this vagueness that had irritated and astonished Bönninghausen and Stapf. with itching legs. one globule dissolved in .
The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 45 Plate 19: Charles Tamin’s case history .
The patient is told to add one tablespoon of this mixture to a glass of water and .46 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 20: Julie Moulin’s case history 7 tablespoons of water with half a spoon of alcohol.
Seiler assumes that this must refer to a Q-potency.and C-potencies are clearly different as the latter always show an Arabic numeral either above or below a small zero. The solution should be taken for one week after which the patient should see Hahnemann again.64 Another informant confirms this notation. As a next step Tamin received sulphur again on 9th November. which Seiler interprets as an abbreviation for globule and. because of Hahnemann recommendation in the sixth edition of the Organon not to start with the highest grade for the new potencies. The Hahnemann biographer Richard Haehl thought. This time a ‘6’ is written above a small zero. he does not explain in detail which other criteria led him to think so. that Hahnemann always used Arabic numerals for the new potentisation method. David Little 65 pointed this out recently. nor in the sixth edition of the Organon. but “with the lowest dynamisations”.63 Unfortunately. Seiler thought that the medications that Künzli had taken for C-potencies were also Q-potencies and suggested that Bönninghausen had probably had an incorrect copy. In a letter to a homoeopathic physician the English cleric and close friend of Hahnemann’s. “with a small ring on top”. who – as he pointed out – had his own pharmacy made up according to Hahnemann’s guidelines (and apparently including Q-potencies) described how the founder of homoeopathy had searched for new ways of producing even more efficient homoeopathic remedies: “The last. however. did Hahnemann leave any indications as to the abbreviations he used for this kind of medication. however. Neither in his later case journals. and the one that gave the most satisfactory results (I believe I may say that he was perfectly satisfied with them) was the plan I now explain: Starting from the first spirituous tincture of any medicine which I believe was the third from the com- .The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 47 take one teaspoon in the morning on an empty stomach. According to Seiler the abbreviations for Q. Reverend Thomas Rapoul Everest (1801–1855).
I think. but afterwards adhered for these preparations to the Arabic ciphers. and then added one hundred drops of spirit of wine. with this he humected a globule as before and called that dynamization o/2. almost have superseded with him all other preparations. The reference to the series Q1 to Q10 coincides. Having shaken it (I forget how much) he moistened globules with this. written 1. called medicamens a la goutte (medicines of the drop). These preparations so made were called medicamens au globule (which is the meaning of the o). to distinguish them from the old ones. well corked. and is. and called them o/ix.. The next dynamization was procured by dissolving one globule of o/1 in a small drop of water. but he did not remember all the details correctly and failed to recognize the momentousness of this change to a new dynamisation of homoeopathic remedies. he moistened a few globules of a fixed normal size with it. I possess many of the medicines so prepared for him. and taking in the first experiment. and adding one hundred drops of spirit of wine. with the information supplied by Haehl that Hahnemann owned just . which are marked with a small cross (x). and having dried them. This proceeding was thus carried on until the tenth which was labelled o/10. according to the ordinary notation. Originally he used the Roman characters.”66 This is no doubt the first time a homoeopathic layperson describes the manufacture of the Q-potencies before the publication of the sixth edition of the Organon in 1921. instead of adding one drop of this dynamization to one hundred drops of spirit of wine to make the next. put them into a tube in his medicine chest. these he labeled o/1. I believe. by the way. but in the latter and more satisfactory ones only one globule of those so moistened he dissolved that in a minute drop of water. and so continuing the dynamization by drops. ten. He was so entirely satisfied with the gentle and kindly action of these preparations that they would.48 The LM potencies in homoeopathy mencement. most of them are complete series from o/1 to o/10. o/x etc.
The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 49 Plate 21: Rima Handley: Liebesgeschichte (1993) .
He first consulted Hahnemann in October 1837 because of a hearing problem. as were some reviewers. On 16th September he then received. To start with. Because the Paris case journals were not – as they had been – in chronological order but in patient order. 1997. In order to prove her point she refers to the case history of a Madame Carré who apparently received sulphur in the 7th potency at the beginning of her treatment. She is therefore convinced that the notation “o” definitely . Michalowski was able to dismiss such objections by suggesting that it must be coincidence if the case studies documented in the DF5 did not contain any reference to the use of Q-potencies.50 The LM potencies in homoeopathy such a medicine chest with Q-potencies which has.69 It was speculated. dissolved in a glass of water. Before that.70 Handley writes in more detail about the Q-potencies in her book In Search of the Later Hahnemann (Engl. one sulphur globule in the 10th potency. She thinks that the musician Rousselot was one of the first patients to be treated with the new method. German 2001). however. that the editor might simply have “overlooked” the relevant entry or that he had been unable to decipher the abbreviation or notation. among other things. Rima Handley whose double biography of Samuel and Mélanie Hahnemann – first published in English in 1990 and now also available in its 5th edition in a German translation.67 The first French case journal which was edited by Arnold Michalowski 68 as part of a historical-critical publication came out in 1992 and immediately met with great interest among homoeopathic physicians who were hoping that it would provide them with more information about the use of the Q-potencies in the Paris years. had tried to investigate the Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s journals. been lost without a trace since the 1920s. because they searched in vain for references to the 50 millesimal potencies in this journal. according to Handley. he was treated with a whole range of homoeopathic remedies in centesimal potency. But they were disappointed.
The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 51 Plate 22: Rima Handley: In Search of the Later Hahnemann (2001) .
hepar sulphuris. Hahnemann then left out several stages and prescribed Q15 followed by Q16 and continued in ascending order (Q7. lycopodium. silicea. she writes.”71 This English author obviously takes no notice of Seiler’s research into the French case journals although they had already been published in 1988. however. But Handley also fails to supply reliable evidence that Hahnemann’s notation really is an abbreviation for the Q-potencies. nux vomica. Q9). Handley also arrives at the surprising conclusion that Hahnemann administered the Q-potencies not only. but she found that most prescriptions were for sulphur. The Brazilian homoeopath Ubiratan C. Adler proceeded differently from Handley in his essay published in the journal Medizin. only case notes from 1837 onwards are to be considered because. Handley concludes from her research that Hahnemann used the Q-potencies especially for healing chronic illnesses and that he showed a marked preference for sulphur. bryonia and opium.73 He used the following criteria to identify Q-potencies which in his opinion appear quite often in the French case journals: Firstly. that Hahnemann wrote quite high Arabic numbers (190 and higher) below a little circle.52 The LM potencies in homoeopathy refers to Hahnemann’s new approach of using globules instead of drops. If one accepts . And the “use of globules”. Gesellschaft und Geschichte in 1995. in ascending but also in descending order. phosphor. Because of their size she thought they were C-potencies. belladona. as he recommends in the sixth edition of his Organon. She did notice. By way of example. Q8. natrium muriaticum. as Hahnemann points out in the sixth edition of the Organon. “stands for what we call LM potencies today. calcium carbonicum. graphites. the following remedies were dispensed by Hahnemann during the last years of his life in extreme dilution: sulphur. In acute cases he seems to have preferred centesimal potencies.72 He apparently was first given the 11th then the 10th Q-potency. she describes the case of the sculptor Richome. In her opinion. he had only experimented with Q-potencies during the last four or five years.
p. This means that the first notes about these potencies can only have been written between 1837 and 1838. Adler therefore took on the task. of systematically combing through the Paris journals again.1842 5. Secondly. the potentisation grade must be 3 or less. or the potency more than 3. based on the two criteria mentioned above.The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 53 Patient: Mrs de Chagnon Page 1 1 2 2 2 2 Date 25. he believes. neither when writing down the remedy nor when describing the dynamisation process.6.8. proves that Hahnemann did not use any particular name for the Q-potencies.7.1842 8. according to Adler.9. together with his wife. Adler thinks that. The first references must therefore be found in the case journals of 1837 to 1838. 139 the time indications of Hahnemann’s biographer Haehl 74 the manuscript for that edition was completed in February 1842.1842 25.1842 Remedy Q Q Q Q Q Sulphur Potency •⁄b ½ ¹⁄d ¼ 5° •⁄g Source: Adler (1995). He felt this was a small number considering the importance that Hahnemann had attached to the new potentisation method which he had still prepared for publication in the sixth edition of the Organon.5. he included also those medications where the chosen drug was marked with the small circle (o) to which we had referred .1842 20. he can identify a total of 681 prescriptions of Q-potencies. which. A few years later. By way of an example Adler introduces a case history from journal DF12. This time. provided the treatment began with one of the first three potencies of the same remedy and continued with a gradual augmentation up to a potency higher than 3.9.1842 5.
75 Adler demonstrates three different phases during which Hahnemann experimented with Q-potencies. During the second phase (1840/41) Hahnemann conducted comparative research into the efficacy of Q. higher Q-potencies are hardly ever mentioned. On the basis of this research Adler came to the conclusion that Hahnemann. The Q-potencies ranged between Q4 and Q10. He started with Q1 or Q2 and then . at first almost exclusively with sulphur and hepar sulphuris prescriptions. During the third phase Hahnemann moved on.54 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Hahnemann’s prescriptions of Q-potencies from 1837–1843: Criteria date unknown 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 total Organon 6th edition 15 1 4 2 10 20 588 361 1001 added „“ 53 0 0 0 9 556 188 30 835 total 68 1 4 2 18 576 776 392 1836 Source: Adler/Adler (2006). during the final six years of his life. so Adler. During the same period Hahnemann also administered C-potencies (from C4 upwards) to the same patients to be able to compare the results.836 cases.and C-potencies. table 2 earlier already. had prescribed Q-potencies in at least 1. In the first phase (1837–1839) Hahnemann applied the new potentisation method quite rarely. to prescribe Q-potencies based on the instructions he had recorded in the sixth edition of the Organon. He tended to use Q1.
She therefore decided to focus on potencies which had been taken to be C-potencies before (1/190 to 1/198) and where a gradual ascent of the last digit was noticeable. Adler finds evidence of 36 homoeopathic remedies in the French journals that had been administered in Q-potency. Kunkle saw the notation 190. if not exclusively. since around 1837/38.4. that is.2. in sulphur prescriptions. The end digits would then indicate the potentisation grade (1. During this phase Hahnemann used the symbol ‘o’ much less frequently to denote a Q-potency. The high proportion of sulphur (69%) among these remains remarkable. Q5. At a time when Adler had not yet published his new analysis of the French case journals. His analysis suggested. Adler comes to the conclusion that. After Adler’s first publication Luise Kunkle also attempted to solve the mystery of the Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s case journals. so Kunkle. Just as Rima Handley.5). All in all. The question remains why Hahne- . the number 19 would represent a static factor corresponding to the letter Q used today which denotes the special mode of dilution. 193 as obviously parallel to the modern notation Q1. as far as medicines in Q-potencies were concerned. 192. that Hahnemann had prescribed Q-potencies only 27 times before completing the sixth edition of his Organon and that all these prescriptions were made in 15 months before the completion.The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 55 went up the scale as necessary. She assumed that Hahnemann must have tried out the Q-potencies much more often in the four to five years leading up to the completion of the new edition. Hahnemann had clearly preferred sulphur at first. If that was the case. 191. Q3. she suspected that the Q-potency notations were to be found prevalently.76 She wondered whether Hahnemann had experimented with other Q-potencies in his Paris practice apart from the 681 that Adler had identified. Q4.3. Adler also points out what other researchers had noticed before him: the little circle can be above or below the fraction bar that indicates the potentisation of the remedy dose. Q2.
p. 240 .56 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 23: Case journal DF12.
00002. In order to save time Hahnemann might have left out all the zeroes in front of the figures 19. or 1:x > 50. 22. he thinks that it is highly unlikely because of the ? 30 29 27 26 25 21 20 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 1 13 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 8 5 3 5 10 22 32 66 115 233 97 170 41 Number of prescriptions in each degree of Q-potency.001 and 53. For any x between 50. According to §270 of the Organon the dilution is. slightly higher than 1:50. 23 etc. Although Adler finds Kunkle’s theory interesting.000. identified by the sign  Source: Adler/Adler (2006).The Search for Q-potencies in Hahnemann’s Case Journals 57 mann should have chosen the number 19 in particular as a code for his ultra-high potencies.000019. In this case Hahnemann would probably have chosen the notation 20. 21. however.000 the decimal is 0. Kunkle has an intriguing answer to this question: the 1:50. This might sound like number shenanigans but it shows what unusual ways have been found at times to get to an understanding of Hahnemann’s case journals so that his theory can be put into practice.000 dilution – if written as a decimal – is 0.000. chart 2 .
To date Adler’s hypothesis regarding the evident use of Q-potencies in the French case journals seems to be the most thorough and convincing one. . Seiler and Handley. as described by Hahnemann in the Organon. It is based on observations that had already been made by Künzli.58 The LM potencies in homoeopathy manufacturing methods for globules used at the time.
in order to make it homogeneous. the same procedure is taken.000 the original substance. mixed with the spatula and triturated as before 6–7 minutes with most careful scraping together.59 Manufacturing Specifications for Q-Potencies: from Hahnemann to Pierre Schmidt Hahnemann A detailed description of how Hahnemann made up the Q-potencies can be found in §270 of the 6th edition of the Organon with the relevant footnotes.000. moist sand. six to seven minutes.. (I). This is followed by triturating it in the same way 6–7 minutes without adding anything more and again scraping 3 –4 minutes from what adhered to the mortar and pestle. each grain containing 1/1. such a trituration of the three degrees requires six times six to seven minutes for triturating and six times 3 –4 minutes for scraping. Upon this powder is put one grain of the powdered drug to be triturated (one drop of quicksilver. well corked.e. the bottom dulled previously by rubbing it with fine. The sugar of milk used for dynamization must be of that special pure quality that is crystallized on strings and comes to us in the shape of long bars. The last third of sugar of milk is then added. Accordingly. mixed with the spatula and again triturated 6 – 7 minutes. When all is finished. but every third must be carefully triturated twice thoroughly each time for 6–7 minutes and scraped together 3 –4 minutes before the second and last third of sugar of milk is added. with the pestle rubbed dull. thus .). After each third. followed by the scraping for 3 –4 minutes and trituration without further addition for 6 –7 minutes. i. etc. say one grain. petroleum. protected from direct sunlight to which the name of the substance and the designation of the first product marked /100 is given. Because of the importance of this paragraph we include it here in full: “§270: In order to best obtain this development of power. The second third of the sugar of milk is now added. In order to raise this product to /10000. then the mass is scraped from the bottom of the mortar and from the pestle for three to four minutes. is triturated for three hours with three times one hundred grains sugar of milk according to the method described below (1) (1) One-third of one hundred grains sugar of milk is put in a glazed porcelain mortar. the powder is put in a well corked vial and labelled /10000. The powder thus prepared is put in a vial. For a moment the medicines and powder are mixed with a porcelain spatula and triturated rather strongly. one grain of the powdered /100 is mixed with the third part of 100 grains of powdered sugar of milk and then proceed as before. a small part of the substance to be dynamized.
Mortar and spatula must be cleaned well before they are used for another medicine. will effect a good beginning for the dynamization of the medicinal substance. up to the one-millionth part in powder form. porcelain or silver. with a small opening at the bottom in which the globules are put to be medicated. in order to dry them quickly. of which one drop is put in a vial. (3) Perhaps on a leather bound book. Only one (6) .* * These are the three degrees of the dry powder trituration. This is the medicine in the first degree of dynamization with which small sugar globules (4) (4) They are prepared under supervision by the confectioner from starch and sugar and the small globules freed from fine dusty parts by passing them through a sieve. Then they are put through a strainer that will permit only 100 to pass through weighing one grain. the most serviceable size for the needs of a homœopathic physician. and quickly spread on blotting paper to dry and kept in a wellcorked vial with the sign of (I) degree of potency.000. each grain will contain 1/000.000 of the drug used. of the second 1/10. To this are added 100 drops of pure alcohol (2) (2) The vial used for potentizing is filled two-thirds full. which if carried out correctly. Precaution might be used to such an extent as to put these utensils on a coal fire exposed to a glowing heat. as well as spatula are then put in a kettle of boiling water for half an hour.000. made of glass. may then be moistened (5) (5) A small cylindrical vessel shaped like a thimble. both mortar and pestle. stirred and poured out on blotting paper. For reasons given below (6) one grain of this powder is dissolved in 500 drops of a mixture of one part of alcohol and four parts of distilled water.60 The LM potencies in homoeopathy one hour for every degree. They are moistened with some of the dynamized medicinal alcohol. Washed first with warm water and dried. and in the third 1/1. After one hour such trituration of the first degree. and given one hundred strong succussions with the hand against a hard but elastic body (3).
even more powerful but mildly acting degrees. it is best to begin with the lowest degrees of dynamization and when necessary advance to higher. without having a lasting. to administer in increasing doses the homœopathic remedy that has proved itself efficacious but potenized to a very high degree by means of many succussions by hand. act almost immediately.000 and even greater will be had. if many succussions by means of a powerful machine are forced into it. however. With this disproportionate higher ratio between medicine and diluting medium many successive strokes of the vial filled two-thirds with alcohol can produce a much greater development of power. In the treatment of chronic diseases. And in this way the process is continued until the twenty-ninth is reached. put into a well-stoppered vial and protected from heat and sun light and given the sign (II) of the second potency. especially in the higher degrees of dynamization. especially in weakly patients. on the contrary. even of medicines of long continued action (for instance. one drop of the liquid of a lower potency was to be taken to 100 drops of alcohol for higher potentiation. which. produces medicines of highest development of power and mildest action. notwithstanding almost full recovery of health and with good vital strength. Such a local disease will often then disappear in a wonderful way. . But with so small a diluting medium as 100 to 1 of the medicine. But the method described by me. belladonna) may be repeated in short intervals. medicines are then developed which. spread upon blotting paper and dried quickly. In acute fevers.Manufacturing Specifications for Q-Potencies: from Hahnemann to Pierre Schmidt 61 (6) According to first directions. the small doses of the lowest dynamization degrees of these thus perfected medicinal preparations. even dangerous violence. put in a second new vial (with a drop a water in order to dissolve it) and then with 100 powerful succussions. But if only one such globule be taken. touches all suffering parts curatively. mild reaction of the vital principle. of which 100 weigh one grain. an old annoying local trouble continuing undisturbed it is wholly permitted and even indispensably necessary. With this alcoholic medicinal fluid globules are again moistened. Then with 100 drops of alcohol by means of 100 succussions. and dynamize it with 100 drops of alcohol. the proportion of 1 to 50. This proportion of the medicine of attenuation to the medicine that is to be dynamized (100:1) was found altogether too limited to develop thoroughly and to a high degree the power of the medicine by means of a number of such succussions without specially using great force of which wearisome experiments have convinced me. globule of this is taken for further dynamization. for 500 such globules can hardly absorb one drop. if well chosen.* * In very rare cases. but with furious. an alcoholic medicinal fluid is formed with which the thirtieth dynamization degree is given to properly moistened and dried sugar globules. for their saturation.
By means of this mechanical procedure. it is changed and subtlized at last into spirit-like (7) Plate 24: Hahnemann’s medicine chest (7) This assertion will not appear improbable. (conceptual) essence.62 The LM potencies in homoeopathy By means of this manipulation of crude drugs are produced preparations which only in this way reach the full capacity to forcibly influence the suffering parts of the sick organism. In this way. as the most perfected) the material part of the medicine is lessened with each degree of dynamization 50. it may be considered to consist really only of this underdeveloped conceptual essence.. provided it is carried out regularly according to the above teaching. inner medicinal essence) will ultimately dissolve into its individual spirit-like. by means of similar artificial morbid affection. The thirtieth thus progressively prepared would give a fraction almost impossible to be expressed in numbers. I have found after many laborious experiments and counter-experiments. at times as unmedicinal material but by means of such higher and higher dynamization. It becomes uncommonly evident that the material part by means of such dynamization (development of its true. the influence of the natural disease on the life principle present within is neutralized.e. which in its crude state shows itself only as material. to be the most powerful and at the same time mildest in action. . i. In its crude state therefore. if one considers that by means of this method of dynamization (the preparations thus produced.000 times yet incredibly increased in power. a change is effected in the given drug. so that the further dynamization of 125 and 18 ciphers reaches only the third degree of dynamization.
First 1 grain (0. After I had wrecked several books a bookbinder made a special board of one cm thickness for me. He was allegedly assisted by the nanny of his daughter who was born in that year.062 g) of a C3 trituration of a homoeopathic substance was dissolved in 500 drops of a 20% spirit of wine.78 He closely adhered to § 270.Manufacturing Specifications for Q-Potencies: from Hahnemann to Pierre Schmidt 63 medicinal power. Rudolf Flury manufactured his first Q-potencies in Switzerland.000. although a few adepts (such as Reverend Everest) knew about them. into oblivion and so did the manufacturing method. One drop of this in 100 drops of alcohol results in a dilution of 1:50. The Swiss homoeopath also expressly defended Hahnemann’s la- . in itself does not fall within our senses but for which the medicinally prepared globule. R. as he wrote in a memorandum which has remained unpublished. Of this solution Flury put one drop into a vial and added 100 drops of a 90% spirit of wine. 1 grain in 500 drops corresponds to a dilution ratio of 1:500. but more so when dissolved in water. not by machine. indeed.”77 After Hahnemann’s death the Q-potencies fell. manifests the healing power of this invisible force in the sick body.] is shaken a hundred times by hand against a hard object (such as a leather-bound book).J. and in this condition. To simplify the counting of drops he used a graduated flask. Flury did not weigh one grain each time but memorized the amount he had used the first time (the point of a knife). which. becomes the carrier. covered in fabric […]. as one could not “hit them hard enough”. as we saw.”79 Flury also recommended not to use vials that were too small (with a filling weight up to 3g). Rudolf Flury 100 years passed before somebody again found the courage to prepare Q-potencies: in 1943. dry. For the succussion Flury invented the following method which closely follows Hahnemann’s instructions: “The vial [with the 50 millesimal dilution.
He mostly followed the manufacturing method described in the sixth edition of the Organon: “To make up these so-called Q-potencies use 1 drop of the aforementioned mother tincture. performed by a machine.”80 Pierre Schmidt Pierre Schmidt also used Q-potencies early on in his surgery. many strong strikes. “For Hahnemann who attached much value to the succussion process. place them into a small platinum cup that has a small hole in the bottom the size of a pin head through which . Then moisten 500 globules of poppy seed size (globule o = zero). One could not give these medicines repeatedly because of the risk of aggravation.64 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 25: Bottles from Flury’s pharmacy borious method of manual succussion. can exceed the gentle effect of manually prepared medicines: one would end up with medicines that work with a strength proportional to that with which they were manufactured. but not as exclusively as Flury. 100 drops of a 95% alcohol and shake this well a hundred times.
manufactured the Q-potencies in this way for her husband who.”81 Pierre Schmidt’s wife. shaking this 100 times as before. the result is the II. however. (second) dynamisation Q.82 .Manufacturing Specifications for Q-Potencies: from Hahnemann to Pierre Schmidt 65 the liquid can drain off that was used to moisten the globules. a pharmacist. for example). used them only rarely. […] If you now dissolve one single of these globules in one single drop of distilled water and add another 100 drops of 95% alcohol. and for other homoeopaths (Dorsci.
Pharmacist Zinsser suggested not using a funnel with a hole as this small opening could easily be obstructed by one of the globules. The second revised edition . Some of the experts present also saw a problem in starting off plant preparations with trituration.84 HAB The first homoeopathic pharmacopoeia for the Federal Republic of Germany (HAB) was published in 1978. but also on the ratio of total amount and trituration time. because they thought that the enzymes in the fresh plant juices would react with the milk sugar. pointed out that a 1:100 mixture did not only depend on the relative ratio of ingredients. He recommended. interested homoeopaths discussed the particular problems that the preparation of Q-potencies presented with pharmacists and manufacturers of homoeopathic remedies. rinsing them with distilled water and drying them at 250° Celsius in the drying chamber before using them again. for example. The different ways of moistening the globules was also discussed. One of the main problems was the trituration mode.66 Towards standardised manufacturing In 1965. He chose to pour 500 globules into the appropriate alcoholic solution and then “decant it from the top”. Pharmacist Spaich from Göppingen.83 This would make the moistening process easier and render the funnel unnecessary. They suggested fixing the plant juices in alcohol for the manufacture of Q-potencies. a fact which also militated in favour of manual trituration. as Hahnemann had prescribed. however. boiling the vials used for moistening after each use. at a conference in the German town of Bad Wiessee.
000 globules of 0. After impregnation in a closed container the globules are air-dried. He recommended the use of 10% alcohol for the solution and for the impregnation the use of a Petri dish. in which 50.”85 Now the standardization of the manufacture of Q-potencies which had already been requested by the homoeopathic physicians and pharmacists at the conference in Bad Wiessee in 1965 was achieved.86 Barthel also emphasizes the importance of manual trituration and points out that the manufacturing guidelines by Künzli (1960) and Schmidt (1961) also differed from the sixth edition of the Organon. .5 ml of 86% ethanol (equivalent to 100 drops) and succussed one hundred times. for one.0 ml of 15% ethanol (equivalent to 500 drops). All substances. Peter Barthel. 50.62 mg weight each were to be combined with the potentized and succussed solution and then dried. In guideline 17a we read: “For the preparation of potency grade LM I. where it was important that “the same quantities. He mentions the succussion method in particular.000). Barthel developed his “precise manufacturing instructions”88 for Q-potencies strictly adhering to Hahnemann’s indications. He therefore calls on homoeopaths to “choose a manufacturer who precisely fulfilled the requirements set out by Hahnemann”. were to be triturated up to C3 while quantity and trituration time were to be exactly as prescribed in the sixth edition of the Organon. 60 mg of a C3-trituration of the substance to be potentized are dissolved in 20.Towards standardised manufacturing 67 of 1983 was the first to include instructions for the manufacture of Q-potencies (still called LM-potencies at the time). Use this solution to evenly moisten 100g of size 1 globules (approx.87 Shortly after that. for example. but criticism and justified reservations were raised soon after. One drop of this solution is then placed in a small glass vial with 2. the same power and the same time were applied”. was critical of the HAB guideline because he found that it did not exactly follow Hahnemann’s instructions.
68 The LM potencies in homoeopathy Plate 26: HAB 1983 title page .
89 Yet even Will Klunker’s public “appeal” in 1992 to correct guideline 17a of the HAB remained unheard to start with90. were recommending an incorrect globule size.91 Grimm also found that the homoeopathic pharmacologies in other countries did not adhere closely to Grimm’s instructions.94 Brazil started off by using Patel’s guidelines which had been adopted by Nelson. Peter Barthel’s research results for the manufacture of LM-potencies were taken into consideration for the Brazilian market. At the beginning of the 1990s.3 times as heavy as the ones used by Hahnemann. until Andreas Grimm.Towards standardised manufacturing 69 In 1991.95 . This would result in a completely different dilution ratio: only 1:22. took it upon himself to draft a new HAB guideline based on § 270 of the sixth edition of the Organon and presented it for discussion in the journal Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie. As an example he mentions the Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India (1971 edition). Even Indian homoeopaths who had studied the Q-potencies intensively. the English manufacturer of homoeopathic remedies. the homoeopathic pharmacist Andreas Grimm pointed out another problem with the HAB guidelines: the globules recommended there were about 3.700 instead of 1:50.000. one year later. Grimm here mentions Ramanlal P. Patel92 and Harimohon Choudhury 93 who used globule size 10 as standard when preparing Q-potencies.
On 1st October 1957 he founded the company ARCANA Arzneimittelherstellung. Right from the beginning. Katrin Zink née Sewerin. She is supported by head of quality control. who had studied pharmacy at Münster University. Until 1997. in 1954. he passed his examination as alternative practitioner. studied veterinary medicine at Hannover University. many of his medical colleagues complained about the limited availability of LM-potencies. Dr Michael Grün. After his death in 2000. In 1962. SEWERIN GMBH & CO. ARCANA exclusively produced “50 millesimal potencies”. took over the familiy business as director of production and managing director. KG Dr Willi Sewerin (1914–2000). his oldest daughter. As he was not satisfied with the conventional approach to medicine he turned to homoeopathy. After WW II. during a workshop with Dr Voegeli in Überlingen on Lake Constance. Dr Sewerin worked as a vet and nonmedical practitioner. It took a three year legal dispute before the German Federal Administrative Court decided that the two professions could be practised side by side. but he did not receive permission to practise this profession because of his veterinary background. Soon after Dr Voegeli’s first seminars in . He achieved very positive results with these high potencies and therefore kept on extending his medicine chest. Dr Sewerin felt called upon to fill this gap. When. He attended courses by Dr Adolf Voegeli and started preparing LM-potencies for use in his veterinary surgery.70 Pharmaceutical Manufacturers ARCANA ARZNEIMITTELHERSTELLUNG DR. the founder of ARCANA REMEDIES. he started a surgery for small animals in Gütersloh.
in the manufacture of the remedies. the first seminar participants were supplied with ‘ARCANA LM-Potencies’. The first product list from 1957 contains the following significant comment: “All medicines listed here are produced lege artis up to the 30 LM-potency according to Hahnemann. with the direction to shake the content 100 times before use and to stir the solution for each dose thoroughly in the glass with a non-metal spoon.” Homoeopathic physicians and practitioners obtained the LM-potencies as globules (1g flasks containing 500 to 600 globules). At the afore-mentioned conference in Bad Wiessee in 1965. using manual succussion only. Dr Sewerin gave a lecture on the manufacture of the LM-potencies according to the sixth edition of the Organon. With regard to the dosage the guidelines in Dr Voegeli’s ABC der Gesundheit (Haug Verlag 1957) were recommended. Organon of the Art of Healing. Willi Sewerin Freiburg and Überlingen. Dilutions were slightly more expensive than globules: at the end of the 1950s. Patients received a so-called ‘patient pack’ which consisted of a small 10ccm flask. a small flask with a LM-potency was . the greatest attention is given to the relevant star constellations.Pharmaceutical Manufacturers 71 Plate 27: Dr.”96 The potential buyer is also informed “that. 6th edition. from the ‘Mohren Apotheke’ in Gütersloh.
The number of available potencies has risen from just 700 to over 1. The German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (HAB) also uses this name (cf. From the late 1950s onwards. from the 1st to the 120th LM-potency.97 Today.98 In an article for the German monthly journal Deutsche Homöopathische Monatsschrift Wolfgang Spaich and his colleague Dr S. The homoeopathic physician Mathias Dorsci in Vienna ordered some of the Q-potencies used in his 1960/61 therapeutic experiments from this company. a 30th LM-potency 4.50 Deutschmark.000 and the supply to physicians and practitioners had been discontinued. M=1.000 homoeopathic remedies are available. who directed StaufenPharma together with Dr Harald Pfänder MD. The product list from the late 1950s that was mentioned earlier already also contains the comment that “due to the high production costs it was not possible to offer product samples”. STAUFEN PHARMA GMBH & Co KG The chemical pharmaceutical factory Müller-Göppingen and the company Staufen-Pharma which was founded in 1956 both evolved from the ‘Homöopathische Central-Apotheke’ founded by Göppingen pharmacist Carl Müller who died in 1932.72 The LM potencies in homoeopathy 1. around 1.000). Higher potencies are produced on request. ARCANA has called the 50 millesimal potencies LM-potencies (L=50. At that time the range of LM products already included 662 remedies. There are a few changes in the 2nd edition of the product list published in 1959. pharmacist Wolfgang Spaich. based on the notations provided by Dr Flury and Dr Voegeli. Grüner warned that the introduction of the new potentisation method could cause . HAB guideline 17: LM-Potencies).60 Deutschmark. From the beginning. also produced Q-potencies.
It could also lead to ‘confusion’. followed by these steps: “1 grain (= 0. one single globule is used for the next dynamisation step: it is dissolved in one drop of water and 100 drops of wine spirit are added. published in 1955. Of these. They are sold as globules in 5g packs in potency grades LM VI and LM XII. ‘NECKARTOR-APOTHEKE’ DR FRIEDRICH ZINSSER In the early 1960s. etc. After another 100 strong succussions more globules are saturated with the solution resulting in potency grade II. Adolf Voegeli’s book Heilkunst in neuer Sicht. the vial is closely sealed with a ‘stopper’ and 100 succussions are administered with the hand against a hard. In contrast to some other manufacturers Staufen-Pharma have retained the old name ‘LM-potencies’ which is also found in the HAB. but elastic surface.Pharmaceutical Manufacturers 73 problems for most manufacturers used to the production of C.”100 The full product range now includes Q-potencies of 33 homoeopathic single remedies. they developed their own .102 Together.and D-potencies. pharmacist Dr Friedrich Zinsser already manufactured Q-potencies in Tübingen. To one drop of this solution 100 drops of wine spirit are added. The manufacture proceeded right from the start in accordance with the sixth edition of the Organon. he moved his pharmacy to house ‘Neckartor’.06 g) of this powder is dissolved in 500 drops of a mixture of spirits and water (1:4).101 Since 1973 Dr Zinsser had been working together with Dr Georg von Keller MD (1919 –2003) manufacturing Q-potencies according to Hahnemann’s Organon. This first grade dynamisation is applied to globules which are called potency grade I. A C3-trituration was prepared. was responsible for the sudden demand in the mid-1950s.99 According to both authors. situated in ‘Neckargasse 22’. In the year 1972.
laboratory Schmidt-Nagel is producing manually succussed Q-potencies (up to Q120). In 2000. Dr Schmidt started to produce Q-potencies together with Dr Künzli. To start with the Q-potencies were not manufactured on a large scale. SCHMIDT-NAGEL The Laboratoire homéopathique Schmidt-Nagel in Geneva was founded in 1927 by Dr Pierre Schmidt and his wife Dora Nagel. No electronic equipment is used to guarantee that the Q-potencies are produced without interference. To the present day. Dr Zinsser died in 1998. available from Q1 to Q90 in liquid dilution (20% ethanol). In February 1947. Dr Wolfgang Schmitt head of quality control and pharmacist Albert Schmierer marketing director. the ‘Neckartor Apotheke’ was granted permission to start pharmaceutical manufacture. With the growing demand separate manufacturing premises were set up in order to relieve the pharmacy. but only on prescription. Dr Peter Andreas took over the pharmacy and was succeeded in 2002 by Dr Zinsser’s nephew. At the time. LABORATOIRE D. The production was situated in an 18th century. The first remedy produced in faithful adherence to Hahnemann’s instructions was sulphur. Dr PeterVogel was head of production.74 The LM potencies in homoeopathy manufacturing guidelines following the original instructions of the sixth edition of the Organon. heritage-protected tower.100 single remedies.103 DEUTSCHE HOMÖOPATHIE-UNION Deutsche Homöopathie-Union (DHU) evolved from the ‘Homöopathische Centralofficin’ founded in 1865 by Leipzig pharmacist . The product range includes now over 1. pharmacist Albert Schmierer.
104 One of the reasons for widening the product range might have been the official recognition of the Q-potencies in the second revised edition of the Homöopathische Arzneibuch (HAB). The 1983 product list names 82 homoeopathic single remedies within the pharmacy’s “LM program”. At the beginning of 1987 she started her own Q-potency production. When it was decided in 1961 to separate the two production lines the subsidiary DHU – Deutsche Homöopathie-Union – was founded. in the ABC courses in Bad Brückenau and similar courses offered by Dr Braun and Dr Zimmermann in the hospital for natural therapies in Munich-Harlaching.Pharmaceutical Manufacturers 75 Dr Will mar Schwabe. She took part in repertorisation seminars on the Northern German island of Spiekeroog. She also visited the companies Wala and Weleda. held by Dr Künzli. initially inspired by Dr Will Klunker as she points out in her review of the beginnings of her pharmaceutical company: “At a celebration in 1983 on Lake Constance Dr Klunker suggested that somebody should produce all important remedies in accordance with Hahnemann’s indications and thoroughly document the . She was so inspired by it that she decided to undergo further training in this particular field. Dr von Ungern-sternberg and Dr Tiedemann. In 1946. The third generation of the Schwabe family continued the tradition on both levels: manufacturing plant remedies and homoeopathic medicines (its original line). Since the beginning of the 1980s DHU has also produced Q-potencies. as well as in the homoeopathy training days organised by Dr Stübler in Weidenkam Castle. trained pharmacist Brita Gudjons attended a seminar led by Dr Mathias Dorcsi in Baden near Vienna.105 HOMOEOPATHIC LABORATORY GUDJONS In 1976. the company Schwabe moved from Leipzig to Karlsruhe.
Laboratory Gudjons must produce its Q-potencies in accordance with the HAB.76 The LM potencies in homoeopathy process. C2. According to what I knew at the time from the training courses I had attended I first thought of manufacturing C-potencies. Peter Barthel convinced me to start with Q-potencies. VIth Edition.”106 In the first year approximately 80 remedies up to Q12 were prepared in this way. Today. ‘Mezereum’ was the first medicine produced by C1. It made sense to me to produce the remedies that corresponded to Hahnemann’s latest state of research. As the only pharmacist among all the physicians present I felt as called upon as I had done in 1976 when Dr Künzli had said on the island of Spiekeroog. In 1990. C3 lactose trituration followed by the steps described in § 270 of the Organon of the Art of Healing. I was not aware at the time that the 10th of April was Hahnemann’s birthday. In 1993. Brita Gudjons received permission to manufacture homoeopathic medicines according to Hahnemann’s indications after applying to the relevant supervisory authority in Darmstadt. . In the following 10 years I extensively celebrated Hahnemann’s birthday with the physicians in my area. manufacture moved to purpose-built premises in Stadtbergen and directors of quality control and production were employed in order to fulfil the legal requirements. a pharmacist in Germany should import the high potencies from Schmidt-Nagel to make them more easily accessible to German physicians. On 9th and 10th of April 1987. after the German Federal Health Authorities successfully appealed against the original manufacturing permission.
5% N = 1162 Source: http://www.6% X. Survey: Use of low and high potencies in therapy 2007 C (Centesimal) 35. Q-potencies were in use.3% C and LM 25.77 Q-Potencies Today 50 millesimal potencies are not as controversial today as they used to be still in the 1950s. C and LM 16. for example.108 The proportion of Q-potencies in homoeopathic therapy registered in this survey amounts to 28. but C-potencies are clearly also top of the prescription list here.simillimum. More recent surveys conducted among homoeopaths show that nowadays the whole range of dosages is in use. 2007 A survey conducted among English homoeopaths between 2003 and 2005 shows quite a different picture. The national reports collected by Kurt-Hermann Illing in 1985 show that the situation still considerably differed from one country to another in the 1980s.6% LM (50 Millesimal) 10. In India. when – at least in Germany – the criticalscientific school of thought dominated and low potencies were more popular.8% (n=344).107 In France C30 potencies were the upper limit.com/index.php. “but only to a limited extent”. last accessed on May 21. .1% X (Decimal) 12.
but particularly also of chronic disease. but not insubstantial share of the market of homoeopathic remedies which are prescribed by physicians and practitioners. Although this by no means indicates that the high potency debate has come to an end. his new method of producing highly effective remedies. such as ARCANA Dr Sewerin GmbH & Co in Gütersloh. contributed to their rediscovery and dissemination. Hahnemann’s legacy has. Voegeli. the gentle power of the small dosage convinces an increasing number of people. although the kind of evidence required by scientific medicine is still not available and will remain difficult to supply in the future. Today. at long last. And another 25 years went by before Hahnemann found imitators who. After his death in 1843. in cases of acute. His widow was not entirely innocent in this. fell into oblivion. next to high and low potencies. the homoeopathic world learned about the existence of the 50 millesimal potencies. . Patients and homoeopaths worldwide are obviously convinced of the efficacy of the 50 millesimal potencies. She thought that she had good reasons for keeping this legacy of Hahnemann’s a secret. also used Q-potencies in their practice. Only decades later. They even found their way into the HAB and into the pharmacopoeias of other countries. Schmidt. Apart from some pioneers of ‘classical’ homoeopathy (Flury. which his followers found somewhat bewildering at first. the Q-potencies take up a small.78 Review and Preview Hahnemann developed the Q-potencies almost 170 years ago to improve the effect of homoeopathic medicines. come to fruition. Künzli and others) a number of companies that specialised in the manufacture of the 50 millesimal potencies.
See Hahnemann. Bd. Organon (1952). p. p. See Barthel (1994). p. Pierre Schmidt (1961). 156 note 1. Flury (1979). 250. p. p. Künzli (1960). Schmidt (1994). Pierre Schmidt (1936). See Josef M. Flury (1981). p. For the origin of the incorrect term see Dellmour (1993). Organon (1922). Tischner (1932-1939). 125. p. p. Vgl. Voegeli (1955). Bönninghausen (1860). 227. note *.79 Notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 AHZ 52 (1856). M-554. Voegeli (1955). p. 218 Haehl (1922). p. p. 286. p. Baur (1990). also the text-critical edition of Hahnemann. 28. Hahnemann. p. Dinges (2007). p. Bd. Schoeler (1951). 6. p. p. Organon (1921). dazu Keller (1988). Jacobi (1995). Jacobi (1995). See Jütte (2004). Klunker (1983). See Haehl (1922). 63. Tischner (2001). 1. 96. 224. . Concerning the debate on the incorrectly named LM-potencies cf. p. 144. Hahnemann. p. Bönninghausen (1859). 233. 49. 130. 263. Barthel (1994). p. Voegeli (1955). Schoeler (1951). 144. 124. AHZ 52 (1856). Vannier (1960). p. 439. 159. IGM Archives. Pierre Schmidt (1954). Mélanie d’Hervilly’s letter to Bönninghausen of 9th September 1856. . 7. 2. p. p. Organon (1992). 360. emphasis in text. p. 412. 120. p. 156 Dishington (1924). p. 211. p.
Cf. Reproduced in Stahl (1997). The case history is in DF 9. pp. Adler/Adler (2006). p. dated 8/9/1856. 1. p. Kunkle (2002). See Seiler (1988). p. Bönninghausen (1844b). p. 31. p. Bönninghausen (1844a). No. 1995). 329. Hahnemann. dated 24/3/1843. Dinges/Holzapfel (2004). 390. p. Handley (1997).. 188. reproduced in Bradford (1895). Hahnemann’s letter to Bönninghausen. 856. p. Behnisch (1991). vol. dated 30th June 1853. Hahnemann. for example. Dorcsi (1961). 1. Tiedemann (1965). Dorcsi (1961). p. 412. 79. p. Bönninghausen (1844a). Little (2007b). p. Adler (1995). . p. p. 157. 31. 52f. p. vol. Künzli (1956). Künzli (1981). Handley (1997). 80. Künzli (1989). IGM-Archives. Baur (1990). p. p. 1. Künzli (1960). Barthel (1990. p. p. p. IGM-Archives. 460. Jamieson (2002/2003). Krankenjournal (1992). 153. 142. 48. Reis (1993). 143. 129. 34. p. Bönninghausen (1844b). 142 – 143 Bönninghausen (1844a). p. 329. Mélanie d’Hervilly’s letter to Bönninghausen. 474–475. M-554. Seiler (1988). Reverend Everest’s letter to Dr Luther. vol. Original page number 3. p. Krankenjournale (1963. 41. p. 189. Haehl (1922). See Little (2007a). 241. Handley (1990). Sauerbeck (1990). S. pp. Haehl (1927). Künzli (1956). Bönninghausen (1844b). p. Künzli (1956).80 The LM potencies in homoeopathy 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 Pierre Schmidt (1962). 151. Haehl (1927). 79. See. 66. 264. p. 1968). Dorcsi (1961). for example.
99 Spaich/Grüner (1955).Notes 81 77 Hahnemann. p. p.htm. 92 Patel (1960).ch/eng/page.).htm. 57. . Franz [et al. 14. 88 Barthel (1993).q-potenz. 83 Tiedemann (1965). 84 Tiedemann (1965). 91 Grimm (1993). 94 For original globule size in Hahnemann’s medicine chests cf. p. accessed on 13th December 2007. 93 Choudhury (1983).html. 40–41. 58. 85 Homöopathisches Arzneibuch (1985). In German edition. 82. 86 Barthel (1990). 210. 90 Klunker (1992). Dokument Nr. 96 ARCANA. English from Hahnemann’s Organon of Medicine translated by Boericke. J. 103 http://www. p. Web Version. 107 Illing (1985). 104 Deutsche Homöopathie-Union (o.] (1994). 97 ARCANA. § 270. pp. p.de/index2. p. p. p.rappen-apotheke. 3. 227. 82 Dorcsi (1961). a. Über 25 Jahre Arcana LM-Potenzen (no date). 95 Adler [u. 106 http://www. p. p.schmidt-nagel. 152. p. 3.] (2005). 100 Homöopathie Staufen-Pharma (2006). 101 http://www. 89 Grimm (1991). 79 Quoted in Braun (1979). 245–250. 81 Pierre Schmidt (1961). pp. 87 Barthel (1990). 98 Dorcsi (1961). 105 Gäbler (1983). 150. p. 78 Braun (1979).2. homeopathyhome. Homöopathisches Arzneimittel-Verzeichnis (no date). 102 Keller also published something on Q-potencies: Keller (1988).com/reference/Organon/64. Organon (1921). 5. 7.de/servlet/Action?pageid= 37&navid=51. 108 Paddington (2006). 80 Flury (1981). 267.
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Adolf Voegeli. 46: Plate 21. San Francisco. p. p. Clemens von Bönninghausen. p. Original page from the 6th edition of the Organon. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. 38: Plate 16. p. © ARCANA Arzneimittelherstellung Dr. Heilkunst in neuer Sicht (1955). p. Library and Center for Knowledge Management. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. p. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. p. p. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. 13: Plate 5. 16: Plate 7. © Archives and Special Collections. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. Rudolf Flury. Cover Page of the 6th edition of the Organon. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. Hanspeter Seiler. p. 23: Plate 11. Mélanie d’Hervilly’s letter to Bönninghausen. 19: Plate 9. 10: Plate 2. Bönninghausen on posology. Julie Moulin’s case history. Title page of Boericke’s translation. 20: Plate 10. 43: Plate 18. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. Rima Handley: Liebesgeschichte (1993). © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. p. 40: Plate 17. Plate 8. p. 49: . Charles Tamin’s case history.86 Acknowledgements Plate 1. p. Sewerin GmbH & Co. University of California. 15: Plate 6. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. 12: Plate 4. p. Guidelines for the usage of Q-potencies in the late 1950s. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. Pierre Schmidt. p. 11: Plate 3. 26: Plate 12. Bönninghausens Drei Cautelen. 30: Plate 14. 18: Anonymous newpaper article about the Q-potencies. James Tyler Kent. 33: Plate 15. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. p. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. p. Hahnemann’s letter to Bönninghausen of 24/3/1843. p. 45: Plate 20. Hahnemann’s case journals. p. p. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. KG. p. Richard Haehl. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. 28: Plate 13. Hahnemann’s medical practice. p. 44: Plate 19. Hahnemann’s case journals in the IGM.
p. Plate 27. p. 62: Hahnemann’s medicine chest. Sewerin Gmbh & Co. 64: Bottles from Flury’s pharmacy. 51: Rima Handley: In Search of the Later Hahnemann (2001). p. Plate 26. 71: Dr. p. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © ARCANA Arzneimittelherstellung Dr. p. Plate 23. Plate 24. Willi Sewerin. Plate 25. 240.Acknowledgements 87 Plate 22. KG. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. 68: HAB 1983 title page. 56: Case journal DF12. . p. © Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung. p.