Editing Homeopathy (section)

==Preparations and treatment==
{{see also|List of homeopathic preparations}}[[File:Rep1.JPG|thumb|Homeopathic repertory by [[James Tyler Kent]]]]

Homeopathic preparations are referred to as "homeopathic remedies".<ref name="Consumer Reports">{{cite news |date=December 21, 2015 |title=Homeopathic drugs: No better than placebos? |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/homeopathic-drugs-no-better-than-placebos/2015/12/18/037b3976-7750-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html |access-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref> Practitioners rely on two types of reference when prescribing: ''[[Materia medica]]'' and repertories. A homeopathic ''materia medica'' is a collection of "drug pictures", organized alphabetically. A homeopathic repertory is a quick reference version of the ''materia medica'' that indexes the symptoms and then the associated remedies for each. In both cases different compilers may dispute particular inclusions in the references.<ref>Jonas: Mosby's Dictionary of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (c) 2005, Elsevier</ref> The first symptomatic homeopathic ''materia medica'' was arranged by Hahnemann. The first homeopathic repertory was Georg Jahr's ''Symptomenkodex'', published in German in 1835, and translated into English as the ''Repertory to the more Characteristic Symptoms of Materia Medica'' in 1838. This version was less focused on disease categories and was the forerunner to later works by [[James Tyler Kent]].<ref name="pmid16322800">{{cite journal|last1=Bellavite|first1=Paolo|last2=Conforti|first2=Anita|last3=Piasere|first3=Valeria|last4=Ortolani|first4=Riccardo|year=2005|title=Immunology and Homeopathy. 1. Historical Background|journal=Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine|volume=2|issue=4|pages=441–52|doi=10.1093/ecam/neh141|pmc=1297514|pmid=16322800}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book|author=Mathur KN|title=Prinzipien der homöopathischen Verschreibung: Synopsis weltweiter klinischer Erfahrungen|publisher=Georg Thieme Verlag|year=2003|isbn=978-3-8304-9021-0|pages=122–23|language=de|oclc=76518035}}</ref> There are over 118 repertories published in English, with Kent's being one of the most used.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Repertories today and yesterday|url=http://www.homeopathycenter.org/homeopathy-today/repertories-today-and-yesterday|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414063600/http://www.homeopathycenter.org/homeopathy-today/repertories-today-and-yesterday|archive-date=April 14, 2017|access-date=2020-08-31|website=National Center for Homeopathy}}</ref>

=== Consultation ===
Homeopaths generally begin with a consultation, which can be a 10–15 minute appointment or last for over an hour, where the patient describes their [[medical history]]. The patient describes the "modalities", or if their symptoms change depending on the weather and other external factors.<ref name="Vickers 1115–11182">{{Cite journal|last1=Vickers|first1=Andrew|last2=Zollman|first2=Catherine|date=1999-10-23|title=Homoeopathy|journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal|volume=319|issue=7217|pages=1115–1118|doi=10.1136/bmj.319.7217.1115|issn=0959-8138|pmc=1116906|pmid=10531108}}</ref> The practitioner also solicits information on mood, likes and dislikes, physical, mental and emotional states, life circumstances, and any physical or emotional illnesses.<ref name="Stehlin">
{{cite web|author=Stehlin I|year=1996|title=Homeopathy: Real medicine or empty promises?|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v30/ai_18979004/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924121418/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v30/ai_18979004/|archive-date=September 24, 2009|access-date=October 1, 2007|publisher=U.S. [[Food and Drug Administration]]}}</ref> This information (also called the "symptom picture") is matched to the "drug picture" in the ''materia medica'' or repertory and used to determine the appropriate homeopathic remedies. In classical homeopathy, the practitioner attempts to match a single preparation to the totality of symptoms (the ''simlilum''), while "clinical homeopathy" involves combinations of preparations based on the illness's symptoms.<ref name="pmid12614092" />

=== Preparation ===
[[File:Ambalaj Oscillococcinum.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Oscillococcinum]]'', a homeopathic remedy in pill form]]Homeopathy uses animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its preparations, generally referring to them using [[Latin]] names.<ref name="WHO Safety">{{Cite web|title=Safety issues in the preparation of homeopathic medicines|url=https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/traditional/Homeopathy.pdf|website=World Health Organization}}</ref> Examples include ''[[arsenicum album]]'' (arsenic oxide), ''natrum muriaticum'' ([[sodium chloride]] or table salt), ''[[Lachesis muta]]'' (the venom of the [[Lachesis (genus)|bushmaster snake]]), ''[[opium]]'', and ''thyroidinum'' ([[thyroid hormone]]). Homeopaths say this is to ensure accuracy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FAQs|url=https://www.theaahp.org/consumer-information/faqs/|access-date=2020-08-31|website=The American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists|language=en}}</ref> In the USA the common name must be displayed, although the Latin one can also be present.<ref name="WHO Safety" /> Homeopathic pills are made from an inert substance (often sugars, typically lactose), upon which a drop of liquid homeopathic preparation is placed and allowed to evaporate.<ref name="Ernst2005">{{cite journal|last1=Ernst|first1=E|year=2005|title=Is homeopathy a clinically valuable approach?|url=http://www.dcscience.net/ernst-tips-sept-2005.pdf|journal=Trends in Pharmacological Sciences|volume=26|issue=11|pages=547–48|citeseerx=10.1.1.385.5505|doi=10.1016/j.tips.2005.09.003|pmid=16165225}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sagar|first1=SM|year=2007|title=Homeopathy: Does a teaspoon of honey help the medicine go down?|journal=Current Oncology|volume=14|issue=4|pages=126–27|doi=10.3747/co.2007.150|pmc=1948865|pmid=17710203}}</ref>

Isopathy is a therapy derived from homeopathy in which the preparations come from diseased or pathological products such as fecal, urinary and respiratory discharges, blood, and tissue.<ref name="pmid16322800" /> They are called nosodes (from the Greek ''nosos'', disease) with preparations made from "healthy" specimens being termed "sarcodes". Many so-called "homeopathic vaccines" are a form of isopathy.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kayne SB|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=2006|isbn=978-0-443-10160-1|edition=2|page=171}}</ref> Tautopathy is a form of isopathy where the preparations are composed of drugs or [[vaccine]]s that a person has consumed in the past, in the belief that this can reverse the supposed lingering damage caused by the initial use.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Owen|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UZ72uQy385wC&q=Tautopathy&pg=PA56|title=Principles and Practice of Homeopathy: The Therapeutic and Healing Process|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-443-10089-5|page=56|language=en}}</ref> There is no convincing scientific evidence for isopathy as an effective method of treatment.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lack|first1=Caleb W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Miy2CwAAQBAJ&q=isopathy+pseudoscience&pg=PA206|title=Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains|last2=Rousseau|first2=Jacques|date=2016-03-08|publisher=Springer Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-8261-9426-8|page=206|language=en}}</ref>

Some modern homeopaths use preparations they call "imponderables" because they do not originate from a substance but some other phenomenon presumed to have been "captured" by alcohol or [[lactose]].<!--See next two sources, and the rest of the journal issue they came from for more information--> Examples include [[X-ray]]s<ref>
{{cite journal
 |vauthors=Lee J, Thompson E |title =X-ray drug picture
 |journal     =The Homeopath
 |volume      =26
 |issue       =2
 |pages       =43–48
 |year        =2007
 |issn        =0263-3256
}}</ref> and [[sunlight]].<ref>
{{cite journal
 |vauthors=Lee J, Thompson E |title =Postironium – the vastness of the universe knocks me off my feet
 |journal     =The Homeopath
 |volume      =26
 |issue       =2
 |pages       =49–54
 |year        =2007
 |issn        =0263-3256
}}</ref> Another derivative is [[electrohomeopathy]], where an electric bio-energy of therapeutic value is supposedly extracted from plants. Popular in the late nineteenth century, electrohomeopathy is extremely pseudo-scientific.{{Cn|date=January 2025}} In 2012, the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh, India, handed down a decree stating that electrohomeopathy was quackery and no longer recognized it as a system of medicine.<ref name="toie">{{cite news|date=5 March 2012|title=Electro-homeopathy clinics to be sealed after Holi|work=[[The Times of India]]|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Holi-Electro-homeopathy-clinics-to-be-sealed-after-the-festival/articleshow/12140070.cms|access-date=13 August 2018}}</ref>

Other minority practices include paper preparations, in which the terms for substances and dilutions are written on pieces of paper and either pinned to the patients' clothing, put in their pockets, or placed under glasses of water that are then given to the patients. [[Radionics]], the use of [[electromagnetic radiation]] such as [[radio wave]]s, can also be used to manufacture preparations. Such practices have been strongly criticized by classical homeopaths as unfounded, speculative, and verging upon magic and superstition.<ref>
{{cite web
 |url         =http://www.askdrshah.com/images/lancet.pdf
 |title=Call for introspection and awakening
 |publisher   =Life Force Center
 |access-date  =July 24, 2007
 |author      =Shah R
 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070202082349/http://www.askdrshah.com/images/lancet.pdf |archive-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Barwell">
{{cite journal
 |url         = http://www.homeopathy.ac.nz/editorials/2000/vol-20-no-3-june-2000-the-wo-wo-effect/
 |title       = The wo-wo effect
 |access-date  = April 2, 2009
 |author      = Barwell B
 |journal     = Homoeopathica
 |volume      = 20
 |issue       = 3
 |year        = 2000
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090726180731/http://www.homeopathy.ac.nz/editorials/2000/vol-20-no-3-june-2000-the-wo-wo-effect/
 |archive-date = July 26, 2009
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref> Flower preparations are produced by placing flowers in water and exposing them to sunlight. The most famous of these are the [[Bach flower remedies]], which were developed by [[Edward Bach]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vanhaselen|first1=R|year=1999|title=The relationship between homeopathy and the Dr Bach system of flower remedies: A critical appraisal|journal=British Homoeopathic Journal|volume=88|issue=3|pages=121–27|doi=10.1054/homp.1999.0308|pmid=10449052}}</ref>

=== Dilutions ===
{{Main|Homeopathic dilutions}}

[[File:Arnica montana homéopathie zoom.jpg|thumb|This bottle is labelled ''[[Arnica montana]]'' (wolf's bane) D6, i.e. the nominal dilution is one [[parts per million|part in a million]] (10<sup>'''-6'''</sup>).]]Hahnemann claimed that undiluted doses caused reactions, sometimes dangerous ones, and thus that preparations be given at the lowest possible dose.<ref name="Kayne 53">
{{cite book|author=Kayne SB|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC&q=homeopathic%20proving%20method&pg=PA53|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=2006|isbn=978-0-443-10160-1|edition=2|page=53}}</ref> A solution that is more dilute is described as having a higher "potency", and thus are claimed to be stronger and deeper-acting.<ref>
{{cite web|title=Glossary of Homeopathic Terms|url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/Glossary.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016234338/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/glossary.htm|archive-date=October 16, 2012|access-date=February 15, 2009|publisher=Creighton University Department of Pharmacology|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The general method of dilution is [[serial dilution]], where solvent is added to part of the previous mixture, but the "Korsakovian" method may also be used. In the Korsakovian method, the vessel in which the preparations are manufactured is emptied, refilled with solvent, with the volume of fluid adhering to the walls of the vessel deemed sufficient for the new batch.<ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|270|date=January 2015}} The Korsakovian method is sometimes referred to as K on the label of a homeopathic preparation.<ref>{{cite web|date=January 22, 2011|title=Homeopathy: Diluted out of existence?|url=http://www.scilogs.com/in_scientio_veritas/homeopathy-diluted-out-of-existence/|access-date=June 15, 2015|publisher=scilogs.com/in_scientio_veritas}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Homeopathic Medicine Potency or Dilution|url=http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821064849/http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|archive-date=August 21, 2015|access-date=June 15, 2015|publisher=ritecare.com}}</ref> Another method is Fluxion, which dilutes the substance by continuously passing water through the vial.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Winston|first=Julian|date=1989-04-01|title=A brief history of potentizing machines|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000707858980050X|journal=British Homoeopathic Journal|language=en|volume=78|issue=2|pages=59–68|doi=10.1016/S0007-0785(89)80050-X|s2cid=71942187 |issn=0007-0785}}</ref> Insoluble solids, such as [[granite]], [[diamond]], and [[platinum]], are diluted by grinding them with lactose ("[[trituration]]").<ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|23}}

Three main [[Logarithmic scale|logarithmic]] dilution scales are in regular use in homeopathy. Hahnemann created the "centesimal" or "C scale", diluting a substance by a factor of 100 at each stage. There is also a decimal dilution scale (notated as "X" or "D") in which the preparation is diluted by a factor of 10 at each stage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|title=Homeopathic Medicine Potency or Dilution|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821064849/http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|archive-date=August 21, 2015|access-date=June 15, 2015}}</ref> The centesimal scale was favoured by Hahnemann for most of his life, although in his last ten years Hahnemann developed a quintamillesimal (Q) scale which diluted the drug 1 part in 50,000.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Adler|first1=U. C.|last2=Adler|first2=M. S.|date=2006|title=Hahnemann's experiments with 50 millesimal potencies: a further review of his casebooks|journal=Homeopathy|volume=95|issue=3|pages=171–181|doi=10.1016/j.homp.2006.03.003|issn=1475-4916|pmid=16815521|s2cid=3760829 }}</ref> A 2C dilution works out to one part of the original substance in 10,000 parts of the solution. In standard chemistry, this produces a substance with a concentration of 0.01% ([[Concentration#Volume-volume percentage|volume-volume percentage]]). A 6C dilution ends up with the original substance diluted by a factor of 100<sup>−6</sup> (one part in one trillion). The end product is usually so diluted as to be indistinguishable from the diluent (pure water, sugar or alcohol).<ref name="Dynamization and Dilution" /><ref name="homsim">
{{cite web
 |title       = Similia similibus curentur (Like cures like)
 |publisher   = Creighton University Department of Pharmacology
 |url         = http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/similia.htm
 |access-date  = August 20, 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070808051756/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/similia.htm
 |archive-date = August 8, 2007
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>  The greatest dilution reasonably likely to contain at least one molecule of the original substance is approximately 12C.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Page 3|title=Alternative Medicine: Homeopathy-A Review|url=http://www.ijopjournal.com/File_Folder/57-69.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903231608/http://www.ijopjournal.com/File_Folder/57-69.pdf|archive-date=September 3, 2015|access-date=August 10, 2015|publisher=International Journal of Pharmacotherapy|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Hahnemann advocated dilutions of 1 part to 10<sup>60</sup> or 30C.<ref name="Organon_6th_128">
{{cite book
 |author      =Hahnemann S
 |title       =The Organon of the Healing Art
 |year        =1921
 |publisher =Keats Pub.
 |edition     =6th
 |at          =aphorism 128
 |isbn      =978-0-87983-228-5
}}</ref> Hahnemann regularly used dilutions of up to 30C but opined that "there must be a limit to the matter".<ref name="Haehl1922" />{{rp|322|date=January 2015}} To counter the reduced potency at high dilutions he formed the view that vigorous shaking by striking on an elastic surface – a process termed ''succussion'' – was necessary.<ref name="Kayne 53" /> Homeopaths are unable to agree on the number and force of strikes needed, and there is no way that the claimed results of succussion can be tested.<ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|67–69|date=January 2015}}

Critics of homeopathy commonly emphasize the dilutions involved in homeopathy, using analogies.<ref name="Appendix2">For further discussion of homeopathic dilutions and the mathematics involved, see [[Homeopathic dilutions]].</ref> One mathematically correct example is that a 12C solution is equivalent to "a pinch of salt in both the North and South Atlantic Oceans".<ref name="Bambridge">
{{cite book|author=Bambridge AD|title=Homeopathy investigated|publisher=Diasozo Trust|year=1989|isbn=978-0-948171-20-8|location=[[Kent, England|Kent]], England}}</ref><ref name="Andrews">
{{cite web|author=Andrews P|year=1990|title=Homeopathy and Hinduism|url=http://www.watchman.org/na/homeopth.htm|publisher=[[Watchman Fellowship]]|periodical=The Watchman Expositor|volume=7|issue=3}}</ref><ref>
A 12C solution produced using [[sodium chloride]] (also called ''natrum muriaticum'' in homeopathy) is the equivalent of dissolving 0.36&nbsp;mL of table salt, weighing about 0.77&nbsp;g, into a volume of water the size of the Atlantic Ocean, since the volume of the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas is 3.55×10<sup>8</sup>&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup> or 3.55×10<sup>20</sup>&nbsp;L :
{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J0TAAAAYAAJ&q=355+x+106+km3+in+the+whole|title=The geology of the Atlantic Ocean|vauthors=Emery KO, Uchupi E|publisher=Springer|year=1984|isbn=978-0-387-96032-6}}</ref> One-third of a [[Drop (volume)|drop]] of some original substance diluted into all the water on Earth would produce a preparation with a concentration of about 13C.<ref name="Appendix2" /><ref>The volume of all water on earth is about 1.36×10<sup>9</sup>&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup>:
{{cite web
 |url          = http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterdistribution.html
 |title        = Earth's water distribution
 |website= [[United States Geological Survey]]
 |date         = August 28, 2006
 |access-date  = March 14, 2008
 |archive-date = June 29, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120629055146/http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterdistribution.html
 }}</ref><ref>Gleick PH, ''Water resources'', In
{{cite book
 |title       =Encyclopedia of climate and weather
 |editor1     =Schneider SH
 |publisher   =[[Oxford University Press]]
 |location    =New York
 |volume      =2
 |year        =1996
 |pages       =817–823
}}</ref>  [[Robert L. Park]] points out that a 200C dilution of duck liver, marketed under the name [[Oscillococcinum]], would require 10<sup>320</sup> universes worth of molecules to contain just one original molecule in the final substance.<ref>{{cite book
 |title       =Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science
 |url       =https://archive.org/details/superstitionbeli00park
 |url-access  =limited
 |author      =Robert L. Park
 |author-link  =Robert L. Park
 |publisher   =Princeton University Press
 |year        =2008
 |pages       =[https://archive.org/details/superstitionbeli00park/page/n157 145]–46
 |isbn=978-0-691-13355-3}}</ref> The high dilutions characteristically used are often considered to be the most controversial and implausible aspect of homeopathy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=P |title=The Memory of Water: a scientific heresy? |journal=Homeopathy |volume=96 |issue=3 |pages=141–2 |year=2007 |pmid=17678808 |doi=10.1016/j.homp.2007.05.008|s2cid=3737723 }}</ref>

===Provings===
Homeopaths claim that they can determine the properties of their preparations by following a method which they call "proving".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dantas |first1=F |last2=Fisher |first2=P |last3=Walach |first3=H |last4=Wieland |first4=F |last5=Rastogi |first5=D |last6=Teixeira |first6=H |last7=Koster |first7=D |last8=Jansen |first8=J |last9=Eizayaga |first9=J |title=A systematic review of the quality of homeopathic pathogenetic trials published from 1945 to 1995 |journal=Homeopathy |volume=96 |issue=1 |pages=4–16 |year=2007 |pmid=17227742 |doi=10.1016/j.homp.2006.11.005|s2cid=3689226 }}</ref> As performed by Hahnemann, provings involved administering various preparations to healthy volunteers. The volunteers were then observed, often for months at a time. They were made to keep extensive journals detailing all of their symptoms at specific times throughout the day. They were forbidden from consuming coffee, tea, spices, or wine for the duration of the experiment; playing chess was also prohibited because Hahnemann considered it to be "too exciting", though they were allowed to drink beer and encouraged to exercise in moderation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bradford|first1=Thomas Lindsley|title=The Life and Letters of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann|date=1895|publisher=Boericke & Tafel|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-1-330-00150-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lifelettersofdrs00brad/page/103 103]–04|url=https://archive.org/details/lifelettersofdrs00brad|access-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref> At first Hahnemann used undiluted doses for provings, but he later advocated provings with preparations at a 30C dilution,<ref name="Organon_6th_128" /> and most modern provings are carried out using ultra-dilute preparations.<ref>
{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC&q=homeopathic+proving+method&pg=PA52|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice|author=Kayne SB|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=2006|isbn=978-0-443-10160-1|edition=2|page=52}}</ref>

Provings are claimed to have been important in the development of the [[clinical trial]], due to their early use of simple control groups, systematic and quantitative procedures, and some of the first application of [[statistics]] in medicine.<ref>
{{cite book
 |author=Cassedy JH
 |title=American Medicine and Statistical Thinking, 1800–1860
 |publisher=iUniverse
 |year=1999
 |isbn=978-1-58348-428-9
}}{{Page needed|date=March 2011}}</ref> The lengthy records of [[self-experimentation]] by homeopaths have occasionally proven useful in the development of modern drugs: For example, evidence that [[nitroglycerin]] might be useful as a treatment for [[angina pectoris|angina]] was discovered by looking through homeopathic provings, though homeopaths themselves never used it for that purpose at that time.<ref name="pmid2866851">
{{cite journal
 |author=Fye WB
 |title=Nitroglycerin: a homeopathic remedy
 |journal=Circulation
 |volume=73
 |issue=1
 |pages=21–29
 |year=1986
 |pmid=2866851
 |doi=10.1161/01.CIR.73.1.21
|doi-access=free
 }}</ref> The first recorded provings were published by Hahnemann in his 1796 ''Essay on a New Principle''.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |author=Hahnemann S
 |title=Versuch über ein neues Prinzip zur Auffindung der Heilkräfte der Arzneisubstanzen, nebst einigen Blicken auf die bisherigen
 |journal=[[Journal der Practischen Heilkunde]]
 |editor=C. W. Hufelands
 |language=de
 |volume=II
 |issue=3
 |year=1796
}}</ref> His ''Fragmenta de Viribus'' (1805)<ref>
{{cite book
 |title=Fragmenta de Viribus medicamentorum Positivis
 |author=Hahnemann S
 |language=la
 |location=Leipzig
 |year=1805
}}</ref> contained the results of 27 provings, and his 1810 ''Materia Medica Pura'' contained 65.<ref>
{{cite book
 |title=Materia medica pura; sive, Doctrina de medicamentorum viribus in corpore humano sano observatis; e Germanico sermone in Latinum conversa
 |vauthors=Hahnemann S, Stapf E, Gross G, de Brunnow EG |language=la
 |location=Dresden
 |publisher=Arnold
 |year=1826–1828
 |oclc=14840659
}}</ref> For James Tyler Kent's 1905 ''Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica'', 217 preparations underwent provings and newer substances are continually added to contemporary versions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kent|first=James Tyler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-ArAQAAMAAJ|title=Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica|date=1905|publisher=Boericke & Tafel|isbn=978-0-7222-9856-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kent|first=James Tyler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RZtEPAAACAAJ|title=Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Together With Kent's "New Remedies" Incorporated and Arranged in One Alphabetical Order|date=2020-03-31|publisher=B. Jain Publishers (P) Limited|isbn=978-81-319-0259-2|language=en}}</ref>

Though the proving process has superficial similarities with clinical trials, it is fundamentally different in that the process is subjective, not [[Blind test|blinded]], and modern provings are unlikely to use pharmacologically active levels of the substance under proving.<ref name="Creighton">{{cite web |url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/science/validity.htm |title=Are the principles of Homeopathy scientifically valid? |publisher=Creighton University School of Medicine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816233729/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/science/validity.htm |archive-date=August 16, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> As early as 1842, Oliver Holmes had noted that provings were impossibly vague, and the purported effect was not repeatable among different subjects.<ref name="Holmes" />