Understanding the evolution of concept of concomitant and grand generalisation as proposed by Boenninghausen using materia medica and justifying its representation in the therapeutic pocket book – An exploratory study

Objectives: Boenninghausen has emphasised the value of the complete symptoms for the totality. It consists of location, sensation and modalities. However, he added the fourth element which is concomitants. Furthermore, he has generalised concomitants in his Therapeutic Pocket Book (TPB) . There are ample critics of generalisation on a grand scale. Therefore, to explore the fundamentals behind these aspects, this study has been taken up with the following objectives. (1) To study the possible method Boenninghausen adopted to arrive at the concept of concomitant. (2) To identify the possible method adopted by Boenninghausen in using generalisation on a grand scale. Material and Methods: The team identified the representation of concomitants in remedies from Materia Medica Pura or Chronic Disease by going through each symptom. Followed by identification of repeatedly coming up with concomitants in that remedy. Observation regarding presence of concomitants in different anatomical locations of each remedy. Frequently coming concomitants in the materia medica were compared with the concerned rubrics from the TPB by Allen. For this study Materia Medica Pura, Chronic Disease and TPB by Allen were physically checked for representation. Results: It was observed that the presence of concomitants in various symptoms across different systems and representation of frequently coming concomitants from materia medica in the TPB while generalising them on a grand scale. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the possible logic applied by Boenninghausen when he proposed the doctrine of concomitant and grand generalisation. We conclude that these doctrines are based on sound observations and logic.