An Introduction to
Anthroposophical Medicine
Extending the Art of Healing
by Victor Bott, MD

Contents

Foreword by Dr Peter Grünewald
Introduction

PART ONE
MAN IN THE LIGHT OF ANTHROPOSOPHY

1. The Four Constituent Elements of the Human Being
Questions put by life―The laws of the mineral world cannot explain life―The etheric forces―Visualizing the etheric forces―Sensitive crystallization―The life of the animal―The interiorization process of the animal―The feeling or astral body―The work of Carrel―The upright posture―Speech and thought―The ego―Man and freedom―The human individual―The connection between the four elements

2. The Human Triad
Threefold man―The physiology of threefoldness―The general distribution of threefoldness―The complexity of the human being―The interaction of the two poles―Experimental confirmation―The pole of life and the pole of death―The metamorphosis of the etheric forces in thought―The two aspects of the metabolic processes―The connection of the astral body to the organism―The relationship of the astral body and the ego―Consciousness opposed to life

3. Health and Disease
Consciousness and illness―Displacement of the nerve-sense pole towards the lower pole―Its action on the physical body―Health: an unstable equilibrium―Displacement towards the upper pole―The effects of premature intellectuality―Deceptive symptoms―Normal reactions at the wrong time―The search for the cause of illness―Treating the cause, not the symptoms―An example: pneumonia―Medicine: an education in thought―The importance of psychological factors

4. Hysteria and Neurasthenia
The constituent elements at the upper and lower poles―Action of the upper complex on the organism―The hysterical tendency―The neurasthenic tendency―The origin of these tendencies―Migraine―How to avert a migraine―The danger from analgesics―Migraine treatment in depth―Diversity of the organism's reactions―Sclerosis―The three modes of symptom development―Therapeutic proof―Avoiding the snare of a too rigorous classification―Treatment of hysteria―Albuminuria―Treatment of neurasthenia―Treatment of cramps―Argentum and phosphor

5. Sleeping and Waking
Insomnia: a significant illness―The rhythm of sleep―The ego and the astral body during sleep―Why do we sleep?―Causes of insomnia―Necessity for thorough history-taking―The treatment of insomnia―The role of cold―Digestive factors―Insomnia of the neurasthenic and its treatment―Insomnia of hysteria and its treatment―The snare of hypnotics―The treatment of insomnia in infancy and old age―Insomnia and materialism

6. Inflammation and Sclerosis
Characteristics of Inflammation―Connections with the constituent elements―Fever and inflammation―Ageing and hardening―The processes of' consciousness, the cause of ageing―The polarity of inflammation and sclerosis―Apis and Belladonna―Why are plants poisonous?―Astral processes in Belladonna―Belladonna and Inflammation―Treatment of Inflammation―The control of fever―How antibiotics work―Sclerosis―The processes of the birch―Its therapeutic applications―Lead in sclerosis

PART TWO
THE STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

7. From Birth to the Age of Seven
Man is rich in potential―The seven-year developmental periods―Heredity and individuality―The proportions of the newly born―The role of the head―Forces of growth and imitation―The importance of surroundings and environment―Breast feeding―Growth and the composition of milk―Digestion in the nursing child―Meat and eggs―The pole of digestion and movement―Standing upright and walking―Speech―Thought―First dentition―Appearance of the ego―Bodily proportions at seven years―Predisposition to illness―Rickets―Vitamin D―Large and small heads―Scarlet fever and measles―Treatment of measles―Treatment of scarlet fever―Whooping cough―The psychological factors in whooping cough―Treatment of whooping cough

8. From Seven to Fourteen Years of Age
Metamorphosis of the etheric forces―Dyslexia―Neither too much nor too little intellectual activity―Development of the emotional life―The emotional life before seven years―The education of the emotions―The ego towards the ninth year―Movement and consciousness―Chorea, or St Vitus' Dance―Treatment of chorea―Rheumatic fever and its treatment―Scoliosis and Kyphosis―Prevention and treatment of Scoliosis―Puberty

9. From Fourteen to Twenty―One Years of Age
The birth of the astral body―Man and animal―Chlorosis and its treatment―Tuberculosis―Predilection of tuberculosis for the lung―The role of light―Treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis―The birth of the ego

PART THREE
THE FOUR CARDINAL ORGANS

10. The Lung
The earth organ―Asthma―Asthma and tuberculosis―Asthma and the exudative diatheses―Asthma and bronchitis―Treatment of asthma―Hay fever and allergy―The treatment of hay fever―The difference between hair fever and asthma―The role of the lung in the mind and emotions―The melancholic temperament―Psychosis in relation to tile lung―Treatment of depressive psychoses

11. The Liver
The liver, organ of life―The metabolic centre―The hot pole―Problems of water metabolism―Problems of biliary function―Gallstones―New medicines―Hepatodoron―Choleodoron―Tin―Liver and temperament―The fear of life―Hepatic psychoses and their treatment

12. The Kidneys
The mysterious imbalance―An astral organ―All arterial organ―Humanization of proteins―Kidney radiation and its treatment―Excretory problems and their treatment―Excess kidney radiation―The problem of salt―Oedema―Treatment of over powerful kidney radiation―Chronic nephritis and its treatment―The suprarenals―Infectious processes and their treatment―Kidney stones and their treatment―The kidneys and the life of feeling―The kidney temperament―Schizophrenia―Treatment of renal psychosis

13. The Heart
The role of the heart in circulation―Blood and nerve―Diastole and systole―Changes in rhythms―Pulse and respiration―Origin of heart conditions―Conditions arising from over-active metabolism―An example―Infectious illnesses―Treatment of conditions of metabolic dominance―Conditions caused by nerve-sense dominance―Heart rhythms and cosmic rhythms―The arrhythmias―Paroxysmal tachycardia―Emotional tachycardia―Thyrotoxicosis and its treatment―The centre of the heat organism―The heart and the element fire―The heart and temperament―The cardiac psychosis―Cardiac neurosis―Treatment of cardiac neuroses and psychoses―Summary of treatment of heart conditions―Getting beyond the schemas―The various fears

PART FOUR
SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS

14. The Problem of Cancer
The five aspects of the problem―Normal growth―Arndt's experiments―Carrel's experiments―Changes of balance with age―The metamorphosis of the etheric forces―Incomplete metamorphosis―The islets of organization―Cancer and schizophrenia―Inflammation, sclerosis and cancer―Cancer, an ectopic sense organ―The catastrophe of form―Traumatic influences―Psychological factors―The virus problem―The tumour: the beginning of the last stage―Localizing factors―Druckrey's experiments―Chemical substances in digestion―The idea of a weak spot―The stages of the disease―The symptoms of the pre-cancerous state―The importance of early diagnosis―The second and third stages―The incubation period―Treatment of cancer―Classic treatments―Mistletoe―The importance of its method of preparation―Research into mistletoe―The results of treatment with Iscador―Action on the metamorphosis of the etheric forces―The role of the psyche―Additional treatments―Early treatment, the vital factor in cure―The role of education in the prevention of cancer

15. The Menstrual Cycle
The menstrual cycle and the ego―An interiorized lunar rhythm―The two phases of the cycle―Pathological tendencies―Excessive proliferation―Excessive breakdown―Amenorrhea―Primary amenorrhoea―Amenorrhoea caused by an overactive etheric―Treatment of Menorrhagia―Treatment of hypomenorrhoea―Dysmenorrhoea and its treatment―Treatment of amenorrhoea

16. Diseases of the Skin
Threefoldness of the skin―Skin, a nerve-sense organ―The metamorphosis of the growth forces―Rhythmic processes―Metabolic functions―Metabolic problems―The dry dermatoses―Problems of rhythmic dysfunction―Warts―Skin and the internal organs―The polarity of the skin and the liver―Exudative diatheses and their treatment―The function of demineralization―The treatment of dry dermatoses―The treatment of pruritis―The treatment of psoriasis―Acne―Mycoses―Wounds and burns―External applications

Postscript
Note on the Pharmaceutical Preparations
Notes
Further Reading Index

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