Biochemic tissue salts — the twelve names of first year, in plain words

The third chapter of first-year Materia Medica is “Biochemic tissue salts”. It is the shortest list in the subject. The NCH syllabus names twelve salts. That is all it gives: twelve names.

This piece explains what those names mean, how the chapter connects to the rest of the year, and what is worth taking from it. It does not say what any salt is used for. The sheet does not say that, and a study page should not either.

## First, what “biochemic” means here

You meet this word before this chapter. The first chapter of the year, Introductory Lectures, has a topic on “the theory of biochemic system of medicine”. It also asks you to compare that system with Homoeopathy. And it asks for “study of 12 biochemic tissue salts with their physico-chemical reaction”.

So the biochemic system is taught as a system of its own. It is set beside Homoeopathy, not mixed into it. This chapter is where the twelve salts from that theory get their own place on the sheet.

“Physico-chemical” means to do with physics and chemistry together. In other words, you look at each salt as a real substance with real chemistry, not only as a name.

## The names, decoded

The names look like code at first. They are short forms. Once you see the pattern, they get easy. Here are the first six the sheet lists, spelled as the sheet spells them:

– **Calc Flour**, short for Calcarea Fluorica
– **Calc Phos**, short for Calcarea Phosphorica
– **Calc Sulph**, short for Calcarea Sulphurica
– **Ferr Phos**, short for Ferrum Phosphoricum
– **Kali Mur**, short for Kali Muriaticum
– **Kali Phos**, short for Kali Phosphoricum

Look at how they are built. Each name has two parts. The first part names a base: Calc, Ferr or Kali. The second part names what it is joined with: Phos, Sulph, Mur and so on.

This gives you a neat trick. Once you know “Phos”, you can spot it in three names above. Once you know “Calc”, you can spot it in three names as well. Twelve names become a small grid, not a long list.

The other six on the sheet follow the same pattern. They are Kali Sulph, Mag Phos, Nat Mur, Nat Phos, Nat Sulph and Silicea. Silicea is the one name without a second part.

## Names you have already met

Some of these salts also appear in the chapter before this one, Homoeopathic medicines. That chapter lists fifty medicines. On it you will find Calcarea Phos, Natrum Mur and Silicea.

So the same substance can show up in both chapters. The sheet even spells it two ways: “Calcarea Phos” in one chapter and “Calc Phos” in the other. Do not let that confuse you. Make a note on the page for each one: “also in the medicines list”. In exams and in class, it helps to know which chapter you are being asked about.

## How this chapter sits in the year

First-year Materia Medica has three chapters:

1. Introductory Lectures, which gives the theory of the biochemic system,
2. Homoeopathic medicines, a list of fifty, and
3. Biochemic tissue salts, the twelve.

So this chapter closes a loop that the first chapter opened. The theory comes in week one. The twelve salts come later, one by one.

First-year Pharmacy touches this too. Its chapter on sources of drugs includes an “Introduction to Bowel Nosodes, Tissue remedies”. Ask your teacher how that Pharmacy topic lines up with this chapter. And Pharmacy’s chapter on nomenclature, the rules for naming medicines, explains why names are shortened the way they are.

## What to take from it

Three things.

First, learn the naming grid. Base on one side, partner on the other. It makes the twelve easy to recall.

Second, keep the biochemic system and Homoeopathy as two separate ideas. The syllabus asks you to compare them. Comparing needs both to be clear on their own.

Third, study each salt as a substance. The “physico-chemical” part of the syllabus is there for a reason. Your chemistry from school is useful again here.

A word of care. Once people know you study homoeopathy, relatives and friends may ask you about medicines. As a first-year student, your job is to learn the subject, not to advise anyone. Any question about taking a medicine belongs with a qualified, registered practitioner.

## Where to go next on the platform

This piece lives in the first-year Materia Medica room. Read the Introductory Lectures piece in the same room for the theory behind this chapter. “Materia Medica in the First Year” gives the whole subject in one view. For naming rules, visit the first-year Homoeopathic Pharmacy room as it fills.