The Tissue Remedies.

Polychrest Salts.

Ferrum phosphoricum.—The anti-fever and muscle salt.

Calcarea phosphorica.—The cell wall salt.

Kali phosphoricum.—The nerve tissue salt.

Natrum muriaticum.—The great assimilation salt.

Magnesia phosphorica.—The anti-pain and anti spasm salt.

Silicea.—The anti-cold salt.

Natrum sulphuricum.—The anti-wet salt.

Natrum phosphoricum.—The anti-acid salt.

Calcarea sulphurica.—The anti-suppuration salt.

Kali sulphuricum.—The anti-catarrh salt.

Kali muriaticum.—The anti-false membrane salt.

Calcarea fluorica.—The elastic tissue salt.

If a human body weighing one hundred and fifty pounds were cremated and perfect combustion obtained, the ashes would weigh about one and one-half pounds. This represents the mineral constituents of the body, the rest comprising water, oil, albumen, starch and sugar. These ashes are composed of twelve mineral salts, three salts of potash, three salts of soda, three salts of lime, one each of magnesia and iron, and the remaining one silica.

Aside from the salts, the tissues seem to differ little from each other. With their addition, each tissue seems to possess a distinct individuality, so that to a certain extent the mineral constituents seem to give the tissues each its stamnia, its durability, its functional power, its stability, its color, solidity, strength, permanency.

Nearly all of the tissues have nearly all of these tissue salts in some proportion, but certain tissues seem to depend for their necessary qualities upon the presence of some one salt in definite quantities, notable instances being as follows: Iron in blood and muscle, lime in cell wall and bone, potash in gray matter of nerve and brain, magnesia in neurilemma. In all four of these notable instances you will notice that the salt (or metal) is present. in the form of the phosphate.

And to simplify the study of these tissue salts in their relation to biochemistry, so-called, or, in other words, to simplify their study as therapeutic agents, one has to keep these four biochemical polychrests in mind and add to that, a study of natrum muriaticum, the great "hod carrier;" as well is this necessary to learn most of what we now know of the so-called tissue remedies as clinical agents.

It was Dr. Schussler, a German Homeopathist, who first attempted to found a therapeutic system, upon the use of these tissue salts alone. Though in a crude way physicians have been prescribing some of them for many years, notably, different preparations of iron and lime as tissue fortifiers in wasting disease, Dr. Schussler's theory was that all curable diseases could be successfully treated by their scientific application.

His theory was that all disease is dependent upon the disturbance of the equilibrium normally existing between these salts—these dominant factors of the human organism. And that health could be re-established by the administration of such salt or salts as will restore biochemical equilibrium between the tissues, harmonious atonic vibration, so to speak; others think that the cure is wrought simply because the needed tissue salt is supplied in assimilable form.

As bearing upon this last thought, it is certain that these salts, in solution or in the highly comminuted form obtained by trituration for hours with sugar-of-milk crystals can pass through animal membrane by osmosis and become incorporated with the tissue needing it.

True, only small quantities of such substances as iron and silica can be absorbed in this way, but as they exist in such small proportion, each tissue approximately one-twelfth of one per cent—a microscopic quantity—is all that is necessary.—Med. Century.

Ellingwood's Therapeutist, Vol. 3, 1909, was edited by Finley Ellingwood M.D.