NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 33
33. Whose Corpse Is This? (2)
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Death, corpses, and healers.
Sometimes I think about it. With countless people coming to the hospital to die, and us sending them off on their journey to the afterlife… We’re not much different from ferrymen of the dead.
Today’s task is just an extension of that. Even though this time, instead of a patient, we’re dealing with someone who’s already passed on.
Corpse dissection.
Istina tilted her head in confusion.
“Istina, I mentioned this last time, right? Structure and function are closely related. Take a look at the entrances of each blood vessel. See that split there?”
I’m talking about the valves located where the major blood vessels connect to the heart.
“Yeah.”
“So, Istina, which way do you think these structures prevent blood from flowing?”
Istina poked the valve with her gloved finger, still unsure.
“Hmm, wait a sec. This structure opens inward, so it prevents outward flow… And this one opens outward… Oh!”
Blood only flows in one direction.
“Do you understand what it means for blood to flow?”
“It’s amazing.”
There are things you can’t figure out without direct observation. Similarly, understanding the heart’s structure helps clarify its functions.
You can feel how arteries are thicker than veins, test the one-way nature of valves by poking your fingers through or pouring water… The heart is surprisingly fascinating when you touch it. It’s the strongest muscle in the body that never rests while alive.
Anyway.
Two holes where liquid comes out, two where it goes in. You can infer from the heart’s structure that it doesn’t create or send blood, but rather circulates it.
I handed the heart back to Istina.
“See the four chambers? Two small ones where blood enters, and two larger ones where it exits.”
“Yeah.”
“Open it up. We need to check inside too.”
Istina took the knife and opened the left ventricle, revealing the atrioventricular valve and aortic valve. The key is the direction.
Of course, the two valves face opposite ways.
“You see it now. The atrioventricular valve allows fluid to enter but not exit, while the aortic valve does the opposite.”
Inside the left ventricle, you can see the structure of the atrioventricular valve, connected to the ventricle wall by thick cord-like structures.
Meaning it withstands considerable force.
“So basically, the heart only lets as much blood out as comes in.”
“Hmm…”
“Claims that blood gets consumed might seem plausible, but if you open it up, they don’t hold water.”
“Really…”
That’s currently the academic consensus, though. Since experimental medicine isn’t fully established yet, it makes more sense to say tissues ‘consume’ blood.
Though that’s not entirely accurate either.
“You know this, right? When you feel your pulse or see a major wound, blood doesn’t just pool – it flows vigorously.”
Blood leaving the heart eventually returns. While there may be minor changes in nutrients and waste, the principle remains constant.
“So blood travels throughout the body via blood vessels. If we put the heart back into the thoracic cavity…”
The connecting tissues haven’t been fully removed yet, so it’s hard to see clearly. Even during my own anatomy lab sessions, it took hours.
No way we could finish in just a few minutes.
Well, I pointed to the aortic arch with my fingertip. Istina looked at where I was pointing.
“See this? The thick, elastic vessel above that sends blood throughout the body – that’s the aorta. The large vessel on the right returning blood from the entire body is the vena cava, which has lower pressure, thinner walls, and is divided into the superior and inferior vena cava.”
Still hard to make out properly. I wiped my gloved fingertips on a tissue and carefully peeled away the tissue around the superior vena cava.
“Can you see it now?”
“Oh… Yeah.”
“Follow the blood vessels. Blood leaves through the entire body, then returns through the right atrium into the right ventricle… From the right ventricle, it goes to the lungs and back to the left ventricle where we started.”
Istina raised her hand to scratch her head but stopped when I tapped her arm – she remembered the gloves were covered in fluids.
Our conditions are pretty rough.
Back at the hospital, we wore disposable plastic gowns, face shields, masks, and gloves during dissections.
Our current equipment is quite basic.
“Careful.”
“Yes.”
“So… Professor’s theory of blood circulation states that blood travels throughout the lungs and body via major blood vessels?”
“Slightly off.”
“The pulmonary and systemic circulations don’t mix much outside the heart, but essentially, yes.”
“This will probably cause more controversy than the bacteria research. It seems unnatural – the idea of liquid moving through tubes like a machine.”
“True?”
“Because the prevailing theory is that the human body is a continuous entity whose components must maintain balance.”
That sounds familiar.
There was supposedly an old theory that imbalance between components caused disease. The expressions sanguine and melancholic originate from this way of thinking about the four elements and humors.
“So… Does this mean we’ll oppose academic circles again?”
Istina shook her head.
“Not exactly. The debate over bacterial theory had immediate practical results and proof within the Lapis fiefdom… But not this time.”
But academics can’t ignore experimental evidence. There’s plenty proving blood actually circulates.
Let’s think about this some more.
The effects of bacterial theory are still fresh in academic circles. Most of them are still struggling with microscopes and stains.
We can’t just suddenly declare “Everything you know about blood circulation is wrong!” Can we? It’s questionable whether anyone would pay attention or attempt to prove or disprove such a claim.
“Still… I think Professor is right again. Wasn’t it Professor who discovered blood pressure? Meaning… there’s a way to quantify the speed of blood in the body?”
“Mhmm?”
“To me, it seems like Professor is considering something completely beyond our current Academy’s level and equipment.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s that extreme…”
“To Professor, it’s probably common knowledge like making bread from flour?”
“I don’t think blood pressure is completely beyond comprehension. But it’s true there are things the Academy and current academia can’t even imagine.”
Unfortunately, new blood-related theories will need time to spread and be verified. Academia isn’t infinitely flexible.
If I publish another paper in a few weeks, there’ll definitely be people saying “Here we go again with nonsense. So persistent…”
At minimum, I need to wait a few more days.
The problem is the cholera paper hasn’t been released quickly enough. Don’t papers that immediately save patients usually get distributed quickly?
I pondered how to explain.
“Remember checking the patient’s pulse last time?”
“Yes.”
Istina nodded.
“You can gauge how much pressure is in the veins by feeling the jugular pulse. You can also estimate blood pressure range by checking if the pulse is detectable at the wrist.”
The maximum height of the jugular venous pulse corresponds to central venous pressure expressed as water column height.
Detecting a pulse at the wrist means systolic blood pressure is at least 80.
Incidentally, doctors typically check pulses at the neck because the carotid artery provides the fastest and most accurate reading.
While these two methods are very rough ways to measure blood pressure, they’re better than having no clue at all. Like with that spleen removal case.
Can’t remove the spleen without clear justification. Better to double-check.
Phew.
“Let’s wrap up. Istina, clean up the corpse as much as possible. Put the heart in an alcohol-filled jar for preservation. We’ll use it in class.”
The corpse we just dissected had issues due to poor preservation, like coagulated blood obstructing the structures.
Will we be able to get a fresher body next time? Would be nice to bring one for class…
Thinking creatively, instead of bringing bodies to us, we could have students come down. Maybe hold the class in the underground dungeon with a new body… Worth considering.
Splash!
With a splash, the heart of our… well, contributor landed in the jar. Ah, contributor isn’t quite right this time.
Should we call them a body donor?
Despite looking uneasy, Istina now held the jar containing the preserved heart with both hands.