A Clinical Materia Medica
by E. A. Farrington • 1847–1885
A comparative clinical course — remedies taught through families, affinities, and bedside distinctions.
About E. A. Farrington
Ernest Albert Farrington, MD (1847–1885) was an American homeopathic physician and professor at Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia. He became known for teaching materia medica as a connected system rather than as isolated lists of symptoms.
His lectures move readily between botany, toxicology, provings, clinical experience, and close remedy comparisons.
About A Clinical Materia Medica
A Clinical Materia Medica was assembled after Farrington's death from phonographic reports of his college lectures and his manuscripts. Clarence Bartlett edited the course, and Samuel Lilienthal revised it; the corpus follows the second edition published in 1890.
The lectures group medicines by natural relationship and repeatedly compare remedies that share an organ affinity or clinical presentation. Farrington explains not only what a medicine covers, but what separates it from its nearest alternatives.
Its classroom voice makes it especially useful for learning differential materia medica: the reader follows the reasoning that turns a broad remedy family into a specific prescription.
Best for
- Differentiating remedies with similar clinical indications
- Studying medicines by botanical or natural relationship
- Connecting proving symptoms with bedside application
- Students who learn best from a lecture format
Frequently asked questions
What is Farrington's Clinical Materia Medica?
It is a reported and edited course of Farrington's lectures at Hahnemann Medical College, organized around remedy relationships, comparisons, and clinical use.
Was the book published during Farrington's life?
No. It was prepared after his death from lecture reports and manuscripts, first published in 1887, and revised for the second edition of 1890.
What makes Farrington different from Boericke?
Boericke is a compact alphabetical reference. Farrington teaches in connected lectures and spends more time comparing related medicines and explaining how to distinguish them.
All remedies in this book
137 remedies — jump to a letter or scroll the list.