WELCOME

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Dr.P.K SUDIR. B.H.M.S,MD(Hom)
 Principal: Vinayaka Missions Homoeopathic Medical
College & Hospital,Salem.

 Head of Department:Deparment of Materia medica

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COMPARISON & CONTRAST
BETWEEN GERM THEORY
& CONCEPT OF MIASM

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 Miasma(Greek word)

Miasm
Literally meaning during Hahnemann’s time
Polluting exalations
Malarial poisons
Morbific emanations from putrescent organic
matter, animal or vegetable.
Effluvia arising from the bodies of those affected by
certain diseases.

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 MIASM
The dynamic disease producing
power which pollutes
the human organism and
become the producer of every
possible diseased condition.
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 Miasm according to masters
J.T Kent-It is that state of man in which he is so distorted
his economy to the very utmost that he has become
susceptible to every surronding influences.
H.A Roberts-It is a stigmata & deficiency .
R.Hughes-It is science of pathology.
S.Close-It is parasitical and bacteriological term.
P.S Ortega-As a Causa causorum i.e-cause of the causes.
Sir John Weir-It means germ disease.
B.K Sarkar-It means microbes.
R Sankaran-It is a state of being.
Prafull Vijayakar-It is related to genetic code & a defence
mechanism.

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 TYPES OF MIASM
1.Acute miasm
a)Recurring type(e.g-cholera,plague)
b)Non-Recurring type or fixed miasm(e.g-smallpox)
2.True chronic miasm
a)Psora
b)Sycosis
c)Syphilis
3.Half-acute miasm(Miasm of Rabies)
4.Accessory miasm of cow pox vaccine.

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 GERM THEORY
Varo in 1 century B.C suggested that disease was caused by
invisible organisms.(Animalia minuta)
Fracastorius(1546) proposed contagium vivum (living
germs) as cause of disease.
Kircher(1659) could find minute worms in the blood of a
plague patient.
Antony Van Leeuwenhoek(1683) could give description of
various types of bacteria using simple microscope.
Robert Hook(1678) developed compound microscope
confirmed Leeuwenhoek observation.

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 HAHNEMANN THE BACTERIOLOGIST
In the essay “Appeal to the thinking
philanthropists respecting the mode of propagation
of the asiatic cholera”(1831).
He writes “The most striking examples of infection and
rapid spread of cholera takes place in this way: on the board
ships in those confined spaces,filled with mouldy,watery
vapours,the cholera miasm finds a favourite element for its
multiplication and grows into an enourmously increased
brood of those exccesively minute invisible living creatures so
inimical to human life…. Probably millions of those miasmatic
animated beings ….this pestiferous infectious matter…” He
calls it “which is carried about in the clothes ,hair,beard,soiled
hands, insturements,etc, of physicians ,nurses and others,”
seems to spread the infection and cause epidemics.
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Hahnemann had no microscope, but he had a keen
analytical mind, logic and reasoning powers. He
used the terminology of his day which he qualified
to suit his purpose and thus make it clear that the
word “miasma” amplified by the descriptive
terms. “Infectious ,contagious,excessively
minute, invisible living creatures” as applied
to cholera ,he meant precisely what we mean
today when we use the terms of bacteriology to
express the same idea.

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 MIASM & MICROBIOLOGY
Three events which is common in both acute miasm
and microbiology .
1. The moment of infection.
2. The period required for the organism to be penetrated
by the sickness.(Incubation period in modern
terminology)
3. The manifestation of its development in the whole
organism.
Hahnemann showed the presence of same events
in the origin and cause of chronic disease also.
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 Formulation of miasmatic
nature of disease
1.Hahnemann came to a definite idea about nature
of acute disease.
2.He showed complete analogy between origin and
development of acute and chronic disease.
3.He developed fundamental cause of disease.
Thus formulated that all disease(excluding
mechanical & pseudo chronic disease)are of
miasmatic nature.

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 As regards the first step,
Hahnemann was the first to
perceive and teach the parasitical
nature of contagious diseases.
E.g-Small Pox,Chicken
Pox,Measles,Scarlet
fever,Cholera,etc.
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 ACUTE MIASM
Kent defines “An acute miasm is
one that comes upon the economy,
passes through its regular
prodromal period, longer or
shoter,has its period of progress
and period of decline and in which
there is tendency to recovery or
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 ACUTE MIASM TYPES
Recurring type:
The acute miasm which recurs in the same manner
more than once on a life time of a particular person.
E.g-Cholera,Plague,Yellow fever.

Non-recurring type:
The acute miasm which attacks persons once in a life
time.
E.g-Smallpox,Whooping cough, Scarlet fever.

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 HALF ACUTE MIASM
The miasm of Rabies or Hydrophobia.
Bite of Rabid dog

Poison(virus) injected into the organism

(Incubation period few days to weeks)

Severe acute symptom presentation

Death
(Immediate excision and amputation of the infected part does not
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protect from the progress of the disease.)
 ACCESSORY MIASM
Produced by lymph of inoculated cow pox

Cutaneous eruptions appears

(Vanishes in few days)

Leaves small red hard spots on the skin

Offers protection against small pox.

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 The examples of the disease
conditions and there mode of
propagation, Hahnemann gave for
the acute miasm,under the modern
classification of diseases comes
under infectious diseases by which
we can conclude that by acute
miasm he meant only the microbes
of the mordern era.
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We believe that miasm is something beyond
microbes.
“BUT”
Analysis confirm that miasm started with infection
scabies, gonorrheal or
syphilitic
The organism is responsible for introducing miasm
into the body.
Miasm started their origin from disease itself and
the disease converts itself into a state of the
individual.

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 RELATIONSHIP
MIASM-MICROBES-DISEASE
Psora- Sarcoptes Scabei- Scabies.
Sycosis- Neisseria Gonorrhoea- Gonorrhoea.
Syphilis- Treponema Pallidum- Syphilis.
Tubercular-Mycobacterium Tuberculosis-Tuberculosis.
Half acute –Lyssa virus- Rabies.
Accessory- Cow pox virus- Cow pox

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PRIMARY CAUSE:
The cause of the disease(Tuberculosis) is the
germ(Tubercule bacillus).
SECONDARY CAUSES: For the action of germ(bacillus)
-Peculiar bodily constitution
-Predisposition
-Susceptibility
-Environment of the patient
Without these causes no one would ever have
infection.
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OPPOSITION OF GERM THEORY
Kent states –The bacterias(germs) are
scavengers & they are the end products
of the disease .
Hahnemann is basically Substantialist
& Vitalist.His concept of evolution of
disease is Dynamic & he opposses the
materialistic school of thought i.e-
germ theory of disease.
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1.Miasms primarily affect immaterial vital
force,the mind etc.,wheres parasites can
affect the material parts of men because
they themselves are material.
2.Hahnemann’s miasms are immaterial &
invisible but bacteria & parasites are
material though microscopical.
3.When the immaterial miasm of hahnemann
attacks and overpowers the vital force
i.e.,during the incubation period there are
no bacilli, bacteria or parasites etc.
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Hahnemann published a pamphlet in 1831 regarding
what he thought to be the mode of propagation of
cholera.He used such expressions as “excessively
minute invisible living creatures so inimical to
human life of which the contagions matter of
cholera most probably consist.”
He also states the cholera miasm originated from
tepid Ganges water of India.
Hahnemann had never visited India & the Ganges
river is icy cold in those days as it originates from
snow clade himalayan mountains not tepid.

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Hahnemann also never repeated or confirmed(1831) by
his subsequent writings upto 1843 .
His words in the article SEEMS,PROBABLY,MOST
PROBABLY, Reflects that he is not sure.
Hahnemann never saw are admitted any material
cause,Bacilli or Bacteria,as is clearly apparent from
quotations from subsiquent writings.
In the preface of the sixth edition of organon he says: “It
can easily convince every reflecting person that the
diseases of man are not caused by any substance,any
acridity,that is to say DISEASE MATTER but they are
soley spirit like derangements of the spirit like power
that animates the material body.
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In 11 para organon of medicine
Hahnemann say “…vital force every
where present in the body is
primarily deranged by dynamic
influence…”
In the 12 para he repeats the same
thing “ …it is morbidly affected
vital force alone that produce
disease..”
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 CONCLUSION
Microbial theory is more close
to Acute miasm.
In Chronic miasms the
Predisposition,Disposition &
Diathesis leads to the
diseases.
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