Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a disease in healthy people can cure similar symptoms in sick people; this doctrine is called similia similibus curentur, or "like cures like". Homeopathic preparations are termed remedies and are made using homeopathic dilution. In this process, the selected substance is repeatedly diluted until the final product is chemically indistinguishable from the diluent. Often not even a single molecule of the original substance can be expected to remain in the product. Between each dilution homeopaths may hit and/or shake the product, claiming this makes the diluent "remember" the original substance after its removal. Practitioners claim that such preparations, upon oral intake, can treat or cure disease.
James Tyler Kent (1849–1916) was an American physician best remembered as a forefather of modern homeopathy. In 1897 Kent published a massive guidebook on human physical and mental disease symptoms and their associated homeopathic preparations entitled Repertory of the Homeopathic Materia Medica, which has been translated into a number of languages. It has been the blueprint to many modern repertories used throughout the world and even remains in use by some homeopathic practitioners today.
Mass General Brigham (MGB) is a not-for-profit, integrated health care system that engages in medical research, teaching, and patient care. It is the largest hospital-based research enterprise in the United States, with annual funding of more than $2 billion. The system's annual revenue was nearly $18 billion in 2022. It is also an educational institution, founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. The system provides clinical care through two academic hospitals, three specialty hospitals, seven community hospitals, home care services, a health insurance plan, and a robust network of specialty practices, urgent care facilities, and outpatient clinics/surgical centers. It is the largest private employer in Massachusetts. In 2023, the system reported that from 2017–2021 its overall economic impact was $53.4 billion – more than the annual state budget.
The Tufts University School of Medicine is the medical school of Tufts University, a private research university in Massachusetts. It was established in 1893 and is located on the university's health sciences campus in downtown Boston. It has clinical affiliations with numerous doctors and researchers in the United States and around the world, as well as with its affiliated hospitals in both Massachusetts, and Maine.
The Longwood Medical and Academic Area, also known as Longwood Medical Area, LMA, or simply Longwood, is a medical campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Flanking Longwood Avenue, LMA is adjacent to the Fenway–Kenmore, Audubon Circle, and Mission Hill neighborhoods, as well as the town of Brookline.
Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a non-profit 514-bed academic medical center and safety-net hospital in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the Boston Medical Center Health System, the hospital provides primary and specialty care to residents of the Greater Boston area. It is also the principal teaching hospital of Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and home to 66 residency and fellowship training programs.
The Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research (WFBR) was a non-profit biomedical research institute based in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, United States.
Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1976, the School offers master's- and doctoral-level programs in public health. It is located in the heart of Boston University's Medical Campus in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The school has more than 8,900 alumni, 267 faculty, and 227 staff; its students hail from more than 43 countries, and its total research portfolio is worth more than $180 million.
The Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, formerly known as the Lahey Clinic, is a physician-led nonprofit teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The hospital was founded in Boston in 1923 by surgeon Frank H. Lahey, M.D., and is managed by Beth Israel Lahey Health. U.S. News & World Report has cited it several times on its list of "America's Best Hospitals" in the category of urology.
Founded in 1891, Lowell General Hospital is an independent, not-for-profit community hospital serving the Greater Lowell area and surrounding communities. With two primary campuses located in Lowell, Massachusetts, Lowell General Hospital offers a full range of medical and surgical services for patients. Lowell General Hospital is a member of the Voluntary Hospitals of America. Lowell General is affiliated with Tufts Children's Hospital in Boston.
Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1868, and is the second-oldest humane society in the United States. "MSPCA-Angell" was adopted as the society's identity in 2003, and indicates the names of its two closely related predecessor organizations: Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Angell Animal Medical Center. The organization provides direct care to thousands of homeless, injured, and abused animals each year, and provides animal adoption, a veterinary hospital, advocacy, and humane law enforcement.
Boston Regional Medical Center was a 187-bed hospital located in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Previously known as New England Sanitarium and Hospital and later New England Memorial Hospital, it was located within the Middlesex Fells Reservation along Woodland Road in Stoneham, Massachusetts, until it closed in February 1999 for financial reasons.
Pratap Chandra Memorial Homoeopathic Hospital & College (PCMHHC) is the homoeopathic medical college and hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. The college was established in 1926 by the late Dr. Jitendra Nath Majumder, in order to commemorate the name of his father, the late Dr. Pratap Chandra Majumder, who was one of the pioneers of homoeopathy in India and popularised homoeopathy in West Bengal. The school is the second oldest homeopathic institution in India as well as Asia.
John Hartwell Harrison was an American urologic surgeon, professor, and author. He performed the first human organ removal for transplant to another. This was a pivotal undertaking as a member of the medical team that accomplished the world’s first successful kidney transplant. The team conducted its landmark transplant between identical twins in 1954.
UMass Memorial Health (UMM Health) is the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the largest healthcare system in Central Massachusetts. It is a not-for-profit/nonprofit healthcare network providing all levels of primary to quartenary healthcare.
Esther W. Taylor was an American physician, one of the earliest women physicians in New England.
Israel Tisdale Talbot was an American physician and an early practitioner of homeopathic medicine in New England. He was instrumental in the foundation of the Medical Department of Boston University, which provided direction when Boston University merged with the New England Female Medical College to form the Boston University School of Medicine.
Sarah A. Colby was an American physician. The first ten years were given to family practice, and the remaining ones to office practice, except in cases of special favor. She practice allopathic medicine, eclectic medicine, and homeopathic medicine at different times in her career.
