Arnica & Similar Remedies (Materia Medica Clinica)

While many use Arnica for injury, few know its complete picture. This 6th volume within Mangialavori’s Materia Medica Clinicaseries explores 16 remedies—14 Asteraceae along with Hamamelis and Hydrastis—that share core themes.

As botanical medicines, these vulnerary plants primarily treat physical wounds. As homeopathic remedies, they address the need to be invulnerable. More broadly, the Arnica-like aim to be steadfastly honorable, with dignity and physical integrity. To this end, they prove themselves through accomplishments, their ambitions not achieved through industriousness, but through exploits of performance: the courage to battle, victory in sport, or (sometimes dictatorial) leadership in the boardroom. Some are risk-takers; others are less confident and avoid risk. Some take pride in their ability to recover; others hide their weaknesses through sanguine optimism or stoic denial.

This fascinating group of remedies resonates with warrior and materialist metaphors of medicine: the fight against disease; the body as machine, requiring only mechanical repair. Mangialavori’s cases highlight how these remedies heal by embracing rather than negating elements of their vulnerability.