Thus we can see that in Hahnemann's method the totality of the symptoms includes the signs and symptoms of the miasms classified by layers and listed according to development. The active miasm is the center on which the totality of symptoms is built, so that the chosen remedy matches the underlying miasm syndromes. The symptoms should be arranged in a manner such that the homeopath may envision the layers of the case and know what to expect. Hahnemann states in The Chronic Diseases that in severe chronic cases the homeopath may have to use a series of anti-miasmic remedies to complete the cure. This is because, in complex disease, the layers may represent several etiologies and the miasms can require different remedies as they become exposed.
Some homeopaths spend all their time searching for the single constitutional remedy for the patient.
When the remedy picture fits Phosphorus, they state that the patient is a Phosphorus constitution. In this way, they search for that one special remedy that will solve all the patient's problems. The search for the grand constitutional remedy may lead the homeopath to construct permanent essences out of an entity in continual change. Complex chronic diseases are often made up of many interdependent components rather than one single constitutional factor. Although many cases have been ameliorated by just one constitutional prescription, such miraculous responses are the best of circumstances.