SUSCEPTIBILITY ,

REACTION AND IMMUNITY

Susceptibility is the capacity or quality

of the living organism to react against
stimulus.
Example- Vital principle reacts against
entry of any disease producing agent
in our body and tries to prevent it.

We remain in living condition is the best proof

of susceptibility. There is no susceptibility in
a dead and so a dead person does not react
to any stimulus.
This susceptibility is modified
to a great extent under various
circumstances after birth . e.g.
environment , sickness , rules of hygiene ,
mode of living , occupation etc . There is no
definite criteria for ascertaining this
susceptibility ,yet the occurrence of disease
and its cure depend on this susceptibility.

When excessively drenched in rain or

exposed to sun-rays we all may feel more
or less indisposed. But if any person
becomes a victim of fever, tonsilitis or
pneumonia etc, on slightest exposure to
rain, then it should be presumed that he
possesses accentuated susceptibility to
be ill by exposure to rain. A person
becomes easily vulnerable to such
diseases to the causative factor of which
he is more susceptible.

If any 1 member of a family is attacked with an

acute disease, all other members also do not

necessarily become victims of the same. Only
those who possess the required susceptibility,
will be attacked by the disease. Similarly , when
the drug is administered to healthy persons,
only those among them who are more
susceptible to that particular drug will be more
affected and exhibit more symptoms, in case of
the process of cure also, we depend much upon
this susceptibility In the absence of requisite
susceptibility , we cannot possibly effect cure
with potentised homoeopathic drugs.

The greatest utility of susceptibility

in homoeopathy is in the selection of

appropriate potency.
The more the susceptibility , the
higher should be the
potency------------- provides a helpful
dictum in homoeopathy

Susceptibility represents a

fundamental quality that

distinguishes the living from the nonliving . It forms the very basis of
continued existence in this world and
therefore , a physician will have to be
thoroughly conversant with the
important role it plays in following
aspects:

1-Susceptibility and life.

2-Susceptibility and health.
3-Susceptibility and disease.
4-Susceptibility and cure.
5-Susceptibility and remedies.
6-Susceptibility and posology .
7-Susceptibility and suppression.
8-Susceptibility and diathesis.
9-Susceptibility and constitution.

SUSCEPTIBILITY AND LIFE

All the physiological and pathological

functions depends on this basic

quality of life . The different types of
the physiological activities like
digestion , excretion, nutrition ,
growth, secretion, metabolism, etc as
well as all disease processes arising
from infection depends upon the
power of the organism to react to
specific stimuli.

SUSCEPTIBILITY AND HEALTH

In a state of health the body maintains the

different vital operations normally . This

fine regulation is feasible only as long as a
normal response follows a given stimulus .
This is possible only when the organism
exhibits what we call normal susceptibility .
Any change of this normal susceptibility will
interfere the normal response . This
interference of normal susceptibility will
denote a loss of balance as evidenced by the
development of abnormal sensations and
functions what we call disease.

SUSCEPTIBILITY AND DISEASE

Susceptibility as a state may be increased or

decreased.
INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY: Increased
susceptibility promotes development of
disease and abnormal responses to stimuli in
the environment which ordinarily are
innocuous.
DECREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY: Decreased
susceptibility is denoted by poor response of
an organism to stimuli in the environment.
Such decreased susceptibility will be
reflected in a poor general condition.

SUSCEPTIBILITY AND CURE

The proving of the remedy on a healthy
individual gives us the basis of
similarity of remedies to sick
individuals because in a proving the
remedy produces an artificial
susceptibility similar to the
susceptibility of the sick individual.
The application of the homoeopathic
remedy in sickness satisfies this
natural susceptibility.

SUSCEPTIBILITY AND REMEDIES

A patient may be susceptible to number of

remedies , but the greatest susceptibility is

manifested in the most similar one. Hence a given
patient may be cured of his disease
homoeopathicaly by either of two methods ; by
giving several more or less similar medicine in
succession or by giving one exactly similar
medicine-the similimum . it depends upon whether
he is being treated by a bungler or an expert . The
bungler may zig - zag his patient along through
a protracted illness ,and finally get him well , where
an expert would cure him by the straight route with
a single remedy in half the time.

SUSCEPTIBILITY AND POSOLOGY

The doctrine of posology depends

upon the degree of susceptibility of

the patient which is again modified by
several factors . The general rule ismore the susceptibility , less will be
medicinal quantity ,higher will be the
potency.

SUSCEPTIBILITY AND SUPPRESSION

Susceptibility cannot be destroyed. It

can only be transformed and its

manifestations may be changed. This
is what happens when manifestations
are suppressed by various procedures
practised by the medical world.

Susceptibility and diathesis

The predisposition of certain somato-

types to the development of certain

diseases attracted the attention even of
the ancient physician. They are also
considerably impressed by the
association of certain temperaments with
certain types of susceptible constitution
or diathesis.
Diathesis : it is the predisposition of
certain somato-types to the
devepolment of certain disease .

Susceptibility and constitution

Constitute is that aggregate of

hereditary characters influenced more

or less by environment which
determine the individuals reaction
successful or unsuccessful, or to the
stress of environment

Reaction
It is an expression of susceptibility.

By susceptibility we mean the general

quality or capability of the organism
of receiving impressions and the
power to react to stimuli.

Immunity
The ability of the body to destroy and

eliminate antigenic material foreign

to its own.

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