episode_0040

Episode 40. Heart-pounding (6)

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Although it was written as a lecture, it was like a stadium. It can’t be helped, it’s good to exchange academic opinions.

It’s also the only way.

This time, one of the professors stood up. Professor Brown. He was considered an orthodox or old-fashioned professor within the Academy’s Department of Healing.

I was also extremely negative about the germ theory. I’m not sure if I’ve been convinced by it now though.

I’ve never met him in person, I’ve only heard rumors, but he seemed a bit sinister.

Still, there’s no need to think that way.

Couldn’t we also see him as an excellent researcher who is faithful to scientific methodology?

“Isn’t this outside the realm of falsifiable science? Now, you have to assume invisible blood vessels to make your argument valid?”

“What… …. Think about it in principle. If you assume the existence of invisible blood vessels, wouldn’t everything be explained neatly?”

This time, there was a muttering sound.

The classroom was bustling with activity. Some people were muttering to themselves, while others raised their hands as if preparing to refute something.

“Blood from the heart circulates throughout the body through arteries and returns to the veins through invisible blood vessels. If that’s the case, cardiac output, fluid volume, and blood pressure are all explained.”

Ultimately, it’s a question of scale.

“So. Where is that invisible blood vessel that can pass 15 liters per minute?”

I gestured to the microscope in the front corner of the classroom. I had already found the capillary tissue. I could see it now.

“To put it another way, tiny blood vessels run through most tissues. These tiny blood vessels connect arteries and veins.”

“Is there any basis for this?”

“Can be observed with a microscope.”

Boos, whistles, and more commotion. What kind of academic presentation is this intense? No, is that really happening?

“Come out and look. A few days ago, while I was looking at human liver tissue under a microscope, I discovered the tiny blood vessels in question.”

The reaction was explosive. Violet got up from her seat. That human, here we go again? At this point, I wonder if he’s getting orders from somewhere.

Well, if you want to play card games all day, you’ll get lonely, so you might as well go for a walk or a business trip.

“Professor. Wouldn’t it have been better if you had said that first?”

“No, there is a process. Wouldn’t it be possible to convey why the basis for something is meaningful by explaining the thought process?”

“Directed for dramatic effect.”

Violet smiled, seeming to really like her own joke. Okay, let’s stop talking.

“I think I’ve covered most of it. Does anyone have any more questions?”

Professor Brown again.

“In the end, you only claim that blood circulates, but you don’t explain where it comes from?”

Where does blood come from?

Plasma proteins are made in the liver, and red blood cells are made in the bone marrow inside the bones.

But I haven’t figured out how to prove this experimentally yet, at least not with the equipment currently available.

“Well, I think new blood is created little by little in the liver and bone marrow. There is no experimental evidence for this yet.”

Professor Brown sat back down. He still had one question on his mind. Well, Professor Brown had been on the defensive throughout the presentation.

“Then, everyone, come out and observe the capillaries I found in the liver and skeletal muscles.”

It was a very busy day today too.

Graduate students and professors were standing in line in front of the microscope. I was sitting next to them, waiting. This is going to take a while.

“Can you all see the blood vessels?”

“Oh, is that red thing a blood vessel?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it look like a stack of plates? There must be red blood cells inside the capillaries.”

Anne, Professor Kropelter’s graduate student, looked at me as if to ask what I was talking about.

“Professor Asterix. What are red blood cells?”

“Small cells floating in the blood.”

Anne put her hand to her temple.

“No, why don’t you keep talking about such an important thing? Blood is a cell?”

Blood is made up of cells.

Specifically, red blood cells account for about 40% of blood volume.

Should I have explained it from there? I thought about it for a while. I originally intended to explain it in order.

First, prove that blood flows, and then prove that blood is made up of cells.

Well, I can’t put it into words.

“Yes. The main component of blood, that is, the cell that makes up a significant portion of the properties and volume of blood, is a cell called red blood cell, which can be easily observed under a microscope-”

Another scream. It seems to be a response to the question, “Why are you talking about such an important topic now?”

No, since it is content that requires multiple papers, I have no choice but to divide it into several papers. It is not something that can be covered all at once.

I waited for the murmur to die down. A few dozen seconds passed, and I looked back in the direction where Anne was sitting.

“Anyway, red blood cells are often trapped in capillaries even after death. It is not difficult to observe capillaries under a microscope.”

If someone succeeded in making a microscope, wouldn’t they be able to observe red blood cells? Well, they can be seen through the microscope in front of the lecture hall right now.

****

The lecture ended in such an ambiguous manner.

Those who had observed the capillaries under the microscope left the classroom one by one.

“Shall we finish this soon?”

End of lecture.

I waited for everyone to leave the lecture room. Some people came during the lecture, and some left during the lecture.

Still, there were a lot of them.

It seems like dozens of people, including professors, graduate students, and undergraduates, came to listen. Should I consider today’s lecture a success? I’ll have to wait and see what the reaction is.

I looked at the people leaving the classroom, along with Istina. We all have to leave.

“Will anyone be convinced this time?”

“I hope so.”

Wouldn’t it be there?

If they thought my thesis was unreasonable, so many people wouldn’t have come. If it seemed completely wrong, they wouldn’t have bothered to refute it.

The old paradigm can only be maintained if what I say is wrong, but since I can’t find a proper counterargument, I’m getting all anxious and worried like this.

Of course, the real reason why other researchers have been unable to find a proper counter to what I say is because what I say is mostly true.

The fact that the heart can pump as much as 15 liters of blood per minute cannot be explained by any hypothesis, no matter how far-fetched.

“Because it’s such a conservative industry and a conservative academic world. Because we deal with life, we really hate any changes to the protocol.”

That’s true.

I didn’t go to the academy here, but it wasn’t much different in my past life.

I thought for a while about what to say to Istina.

“There is something about medicine that makes it different from other disciplines.”

“What is it?”

“All other academic disciplines are process-oriented. How thorough the research is, how good the experiments are, how solid the logic is.”

“Isn’t medicine similar?”

“No. Medicine is not an evidence-based discipline. It deals with much more important things than that.”

“What is that?”

“Patient.”

The point is this: Medical findings that affect a patient’s prognosis cannot be ignored, no matter how much other doctors may want to do so.

The clinical results prove it all.

Everything else is secondary.

This is also why lithium is used to treat psychosis without a clear understanding of its mechanism of action, and why some anesthetics are used for general anesthesia.

Because the results are what matter most.

It’s not necessarily something to brag about. On the other hand, it could also be said that medical papers are written relatively roughly because they focus on the results. Anyway.

“So. Ultimately, all you have to do is explain why considering blood pressure is helpful to the patient. If you do that, any counterarguments from the opposition will be meaningless.”

“Ah.”

Istina kept her mouth shut.

Blood pressure is the most important number when seeing a patient. You can immediately check if the patient is tense, bleeding, or has an underlying disease.

Not to mention high blood pressure. Bleeding, dehydration, aortic dissection, etc. – these are all diseases that can be suspected based on blood pressure.

“Anyway, that’s what I think.”

****

So the classroom was empty, and only I, Istina, and the microscope were left.

That’s right, I didn’t tell Istina that.

“Istina. A letter came from the palace.”

“Why?”

“Your paper on infectious dysentery seems to have caught the attention of the royal family.”

“Yes?”

He looks embarrassed.

“My thesis? Why?”

I don’t know the specifics, but judging from the prince’s words, it was something like this.

“That’s the gist of the paper. The role of power is important in epidemic management.”

“Well, it could look like that.”

“Some say it is the government’s responsibility, others say it is the government’s authority… … There may be differences in perspective, but anyway. Everyone seems to think it is an interesting paper.”

“Oh, ah.”

My grad student broke down.

It didn’t break down and I used it for a long time.

Istina wrapped her head. She suddenly had a lot of work to do, and the pressure must be considerable. But as a researcher, isn’t this an honorable stage? Let’s have a drink.