Book Review of ‘Synoptic Memorizer of Materia Medica by  Dr Yamini Ramesh

Book Review of ‘Synoptic Memorizer of Materia Medica by Dr Subrata K Banerjea & Dr Saptarshi Banerjea’ Reviewed by Dr Yamini Ramesh  

My Perspective on the Book

This is the second edition of Synoptic Memorizer of Materia Medica. The first edition of this book was written in 1980 by Dr Subrata Banerjea in 1980 almost 44 years ago. In that edition only 50 remedies were covered but in this new and revised edition Dr Saptarshi has included 127 drugs which are taught in the whole BHMS syllabus. Dr Saptarshi is the 5th generation homeopath from the homoeopathic lineage of his family from Kolkata. Dr Saptarshi is a young dynamic practitioner and a very popular youtuber as well. He is the coauthor of this book who has taken immense efforts to compile the important keynotes of all the remedies from different books of master prescribers like Kent, Hahnemann, Tyler, Dunham, Clarke, Nash, Allen and many more.

He has compiled the most important red line symptoms or keynotes from various classical authors and arranged them in a very comprehensive fashion so that the reader understands it easily and is able to memorize it well from the clinical or examination point of view. The book has references from reportorial augmentation as well which is a cherry on cake.

There are very few books where you get materia medica with reportorial augmentation. One section in each drug also mentions comparative drugs which come close to that particular remedy. So it includes comparative study as well.

All the remedies of BHMS course are included in the book under various heads like – Introduction of the remedy, constitution, History, drug totality, mental symptoms, theme and essence, modalities and oral questionnaire etc. The above schema is followed for most of the polychrest remedies. What I really liked about the book is it has memorizing symptoms arranged in MNEMONIC FORM. 

In medical college we all use mnemonic to memorize the difficult names of diseases or groups of symptoms etc. which makes our work much easier. So what the author has done here is – he has used the name of the remedy and made one symptom from that letter and you need to just understand that symptom complex to memorize the particular remedy.

For example- 

In Camphora he writes following symptoms – 

C- Cold to touch yet cannot bear to be covered.

A – Antidote- universal vegetable antidote

M-   Measles, in all sequelae 

P- Pains better while thinking.

H- Hypersensitive to slightest touch

O- Over Sensitive to cold air 

R- Rapid sinking of strength: profound perspiration.

So, he used the first letter of the remedy and wrote some of the most important symptoms of the remedy starting from that letter. This is the perfect use of mnemonic.  Hence the name synoptic memoriser just makes sense. Different reference books are diligently covered, and synoptic gist has arranged in coherent manner. This is the USP of the book. 

The books covers many areas like – 

• Drug Totality 
• Reportorial synopsis
• Constitution 
• Thermals
• Theme and Essence & 
• Oral questionnaire – which is given on the last page of each remedy. 

The “Theme and Essence” section of the book is highly appreciated for its detailed and insightful analysis. In this section, the author uses a flow chart to outline the sphere of action, important symptoms, onset, and other crucial aspects, effectively capturing the core attributes of each remedy. Dr. Boger refers to these core attributes as the “genius” of the remedy, highlighting its unique and essential qualities. Personally, I loved this section because it truly compiles the essence of each remedy in a nutshell. For students, reading these flow charts and mnemonics makes it easier to memorize the important symptoms of various remedies.

Additionally, the last section of the book includes an oral questionnaire with questions that are likely intended for students preparing for exams. These questions focus on remedies commonly discussed in vivas, making this section a valuable resource for exam preparation. Overall, this book is written in a very comprehensive fashion, making it extremely helpful for students struggling to memorize keynotes and understand the materia medica from different authors’ viewpoints. By providing a summary of remedies derived from various sources, the book reduces the reader’s burden of going through multiple literatures.

At the same time, this book can be very helpful for practitioners for bedside prescribing as a quick reference material for common remedies used in day-to-day outpatient care. It strikes a good balance between providing a succinct summary and fostering an interest in classical literature for book lovers.