----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Heading to the Ward (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I heard you opened your clinic, so I came to check it out. Professor Asterix. Do you like the Academy? I heard you've been working hard on something."
A bit of hardship, sure.
"Of course. With the opportunity Your Highness gave me, I will rewrite the history of medicine in the Empire."
"I see... Give it your all, then. I can't tell if you're arrogant or humble."
The Princess muttered.
"I'm just being honest. I might seem humble where I'm lacking, and arrogant where I'm exceptional."
"You talk too much. Let's go with arrogant."
Anyway, time to start the consultation.
"Let me listen with the stethoscope."
Asthma isn't a disease that can be easily cured. The Princess's symptoms have improved a lot, and since she's superhuman to begin with, she looks fine. But with the stethoscope, I can pick out the issues.
When I listen to her lungs, there's still wheezing. In simple terms, it's the sound made when air is obstructed leaving the lungs.
"Any better?"
"No. It doesn't seem much different from last time. Though compared to when we first met, it's a huge improvement."
"Must be the healer's skill that's the problem."
"Seems like it."
"You're fired."
"That's a shame."
I pondered for a moment, then placed a medicine bottle on the desk. It's the same drug as before. A sustained-release bronchodilator.
"Same as last time?"
"Yes."
"No need to increase the dose?"
"Do you get short of breath during normal activities or exercise?"
"Not really."
"Then there's no reason to change it."
I shook my head.
There is one regrettable thing. It'd be great if we had a way to measure lung capacity or respiratory volume, but the imperial court didn't have anything like that.
"Ah. We can gauge the severity of asthma by the amount of air moving during breathing. Shall I make the necessary device?"
You never know, the alchemy faculty lab might have a machine for measuring gas volume. Thinking about it, they probably do.
"Give it a try."
"Will do."
I bowed to the Princess.
"Come back next time."
"When?"
"Around next month? Come when the medicine runs out. Or sooner if you feel unwell."
"Got it."
Princess Mint left the clinic like that. Only after she was gone did Estina relax from her at-attention stance.
"That was really the Princess just now?"
"Don't high nobles come to the Academy often?"
"First time seeing the Princess."
Sometimes I forget. Princess Mint is a really important person, right? Since I know her personally, it doesn't feel real.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Estina seemed full of questions.
"What."
"Are you close with the Princess?"
Yeah.
"I told you, I was the Imperial Physician."
"Whoa. That's amazing. More importantly, what's that in your ears? A tool for listening to sounds?"
The stethoscope I made while working at the palace.
"Stethoscope. Lets you hear sounds inside the body. Usually heart and breathing sounds. With more skill, you can hear bowel or vascular sounds too."
"Ah..."
The stethoscope was only invented in the early 19th century, so Estina might never have seen anything like it.
"Can I try it?"
"Sure."
I handed the stethoscope to Estina. She fiddled with the chest piece curiously, pressing it here and there.
"Professor. Can you figure out what disease it is just by listening to the patient's sounds with this?"
Not quite.
"Well. For heart or lung diseases, it might give clues to why they're hurting. But it doesn't tell you the exact disease right away."
It's different like that.
In my previous life's hospitals, there was the concept of definitive diagnosis. Bacteria could be identified precisely with gene tests. Most issues were figured out with biopsies, endoscopes, or CT scans.
Not here.
No surefire way to find out. If symptoms go away with medicine or treatment, you just assume the diagnosis was right. It's all guesswork.
That's why healing magic exists, after all.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
And now, officially clocking in.
This is my ward.
I left the research to Estina for now. Today, I have to man the ward. Actually, since Estina came along... it might sound weird to say I left research to her.
That's why we need grad students. Anyway, research is for future us. Today is patient time in the ward.
Apparently, emergencies, severe cases, or unknown diseases get bumped up from general wards to the professor ward. Feels like the order is backward, but oh well.
No clue what to expect. I just sat quietly in the corner of the ward. Estina was reading a textbook beside me.
"Reading the textbook is good, but who knows how much of it is accurate."
"Uh, but wouldn't it be good for you to look at the textbook too, Professor? So you know what standards we studied by?"
True. I should look it over sometime.
"Estina. Based on your experience working this ward, how many patients do you think we'll get today?"
"Patients come in droves even normally. If nothing special, the ward will fill up."
Oof.
This 12-bed ward full? That seems like a lot for two people.
"Once it's full, no new ones until someone leaves. Not as headache-inducing as you think."
I nodded.
Let's see what patients come in first.
A little later.
The first patient into my ward was one clutching his arm as he entered. Specifically, his upper arm, while the lower arm looked severely injured. Too bad to touch.
The patient was a young man in riding clothes. Probably an Academy student.
Estina rushed to him, and I looked at the nurse who was supporting him.
"Do you know the patient's info?"
"Academy student, Mr. Benjamin Brisbane. Fell off a horse a few hours ago, arm hit a rock and the arm bone broke."
The nurse who brought him answered.
Male student around Estina's age. Brown hair, face drenched in sweat from the pain of the broken arm.
Face can wait. The arm is priority.
Came from general ward. Lower arm bent where no joint should be, so fracture confirmed. What kind?
Comminuted fracture, bones crushed? Or simple? From the angle, even simple means both humerus sides broken.
More importantly, arm still bent like that means it's badly shattered. Or did muscles or tendons bend the broken arm that way?
Serious situation. Could lose the arm, even life at risk if not treated fast.
"Sir. Does it hurt a lot?"
"Agh! It hurts like I'm dying."
Hard to talk?
No choice. I went to the bedside and checked the broken arm. Bruising and swelling. Hard to tell the issue at a glance.
I pressed the edge of the bruise first.
"Does it hurt?"
"Gaaahhh!"
Hurts a lot, huh. Priority is finding where pressing causes extreme pain, from where to where.
Pain distribution tells if bone broken, how many, muscle or nerve damage.
"Here?"
"A, aaaaagh!"
Good lungs on him.
"I, is it okay to just press the injury like that?"
Estina muttered softly, but.
It's fine to press.
No way to assess otherwise. Pressing with fingers won't worsen an arm smashed by a hammer. It'll hurt, sure.
"Estina. You have one minute. Tell me your diagnosis and treatment plan for the patient."
Estina opened her mouth.
"Uh, arm's broken, so splint it, and since it hurts, painkillers. Other than that-"
"Think more."
Both wrong. I turned from Estina and looked back at the patient.
"Sir. What did you injure it on?"
"Fell from horse, ugh."
"Did you try to set the bone?"
"Uh... what?"
Got it. I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to Estina. She looked confused.
"Gag the patient's mouth."
"What are you going to do?"
"Set the bone."
"W-won't that hurt a ton? Shouldn't we give painkillers first-"
I shook my head.
If we had X-ray, I'd do painkillers first. But... reasons not to now.
"Painkillers change the pain pattern. Then no way to know what's wrong with the arm. Painkillers in 10 minutes."
"Understood."
Estina nodded.
I met the patient's eyes.
"Ten minutes! Painkillers in ten minutes!"