Abies nigra
Made from the black spruce — the dark evergreen of the northern swamps, and the classical remedy of the stomach pain after eating.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a stomach that hurts as the meal ends: the pain after eating of the books, the sensation of a hard, immovable lump or ball lodged in the stomach, the sleeplessness of the gastric chapter, and the dark spruce of the northern swamps. The after-meal lump remedy: that is Abies nigra.
The substance, in plain words
The black spruce is the dark evergreen of the northern swamps, its resinous chemistry the genuine conifer's. The proving gave the spruce the after-meal lump portrait — the books' great use for the sensation of the hard ball in the stomach.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety with the pain. Worry over the stomach, the lump, the sleeplessness, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant post-meal pain.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the chronic gastric state.
The body
- Pain after eating. The keynote: the stomach pain that comes on as the meal ends — the books' great characteristic.
- Hard lump sensation. The sensation of a hard, immovable ball lodged in the stomach — the quoted confirmatory sign.
- Sleeplessness of the gastric chapter. The books add the sleeplessness that rides the stomach complaint.
- Worse eating and night. Every meal and the night aggravate.
- Better for rest and warmth. Rest and warmth ease the dark spruce state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| eating; night; cold damp weather. | rest; warmth; the stomach empty. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Stomach and digestion, sleep, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The swamp spruce's proving gave the after-meal lump; Abies nigra became the classical remedy of the hard-ball stomach — the dark evergreen serving the stomach that hurt as the meal ended.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
The black spruce's real career is the conifer shelf's — resins and turpentine, genuine counter-irritants of the old pharmacy. The lump it portrayed is now gastroenterology's — the stomach imaged and examined; the tree's chemistry is real, the portrait's answers modern.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Abies canadensis | The spruce pair | Abies canadensis is the canine hunger; Abies nigra the after-meal hard lump. |
| Anacardium orientale | Plug and ball sensations | Anacardium's plug is the two-willed one; Abies nigra's the hard ball after eating. |
| Nux vomica | After-meal dyspepsia | Nux is fiery and spasmodic after food; Abies nigra is the hard-lump one of the forest chapter. |
| Kali bichromicum | Ball and plug sensations | Kali-bich's are the stringy, punched-out chapter; Abies nigra's the hard ball of the stomach. |