I Became a Plague Doctor in a Romance Fantasy Novel

Discovery of Bacteria (1)

Discovery of Bacteria (1)

And……. the first step of the plan.

The microscope.

Robert Hooke invented the microscope in the 17th century. Humanity was able to see the basic structure that makes up living organisms for the first time. Hooke’s microscope helped in discovering cells.

Of course, human cells can’t be seen without staining, so specifically, it was the plant cell walls of cork that were observed.

This is the laboratory.

Anyway, a microscope is just two or three lenses. All other parts only make the microscope easier to use.

Ah. My neck hurts.

Isn’t there an easier way to make this?

“Professor. What are you doing?”

“Oh, you came at the right time. I’m making a microscope.”

“What is that?”

To explain the microscope as simply as possible.

“Do you know what a magnifying glass is? By stacking multiple magnifying glasses, you can enlarge the target. If one magnifying glass can enlarge an image ten times, wouldn’t two stacked together enlarge it a hundred times?”

“Is that so?”

I don’t know because I’ve never tried it.

I’ve used a microscope before, but I’ve never made one.

“If you adjust the focus well, it should work. The problem is, I’ve never made one before…”

Istina pondered for a moment.

“Should we ask a watchmaker or an optician? If it’s not too complicated, they might be able to make it. If it’s just two lenses, that is.”

Well, wouldn’t I need to draw a blueprint for that? I’m not confident about that. First, let’s try calculating the focus.

“Will that work?”

“Even if we don’t draw a full blueprint, if we explain it as best as we can, won’t we get some kind of result?”

That seemed to make sense.

“Do you have a protractor?”

“I’ll get one later.”

In my previous life, I didn’t have to look at microscopes directly; I just handed them over to the pathology or diagnostic laboratory departments. Even then, clinical pathologists did most of the sample staining and preservation.

Now.

Not only do I have to look at the microscope, but I also have to make it from scratch. It’s hard for me, and it’s hard for Istina too.

If I want to keep the graduate students for a long time, I need to recruit more people as soon as possible. That way, we can get more work done and avoid overworking.

“Istina. Where do you usually find graduate students? It must be tough for you to work alone.”

“Uh… It’s most reliable to look among senior undergraduates, I think.”

I guess I’ll have to start teaching classes.

Originally, teaching materials or plans are often made by the assistant, but Istina still has too much to learn. I have to do it myself.

“Istina. You should join the class too.”

“Oh, yes, understood.”

“For now, I’m thinking of teaching in a way that helps with our research. After all, the purpose of our research is to create healers who know new things. I’ll show as many experiments as possible during the research.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Looking forward to what, Istina.

You have to do half the work.

Was it Benyamin or Benjamin?

It might just be a difference in pronunciation.

Anyway. The student patient was lying in bed. He looked fine on the outside, and fortunately, the swelling in his arm had gone down significantly.

“How are you feeling, patient?”

“Oh, I think I’m okay. I can move my arm. It still hurts a bit though.”

I looked at Benyamin.

“Let’s wait one more day before moving your arm. You might move it before the bone sets.”

“Do I need something like a splint?”

No need. There’s already a metal pin in the arm bone, adding a splint won’t make the bone any stronger. Just be a bit careful.

“No, just be careful. Don’t bump into anything, and don’t move too vigorously.”

The patient nodded.

“Can I go home like this?”

“It’s still a bit early for discharge. There’s a risk of infection, and you need to practice moving your hand.”

Fortunately, he seemed to understand.

The hospital, even for this era, is relatively clean. The dressing on the wound is changed daily, or even several times a day.

“Understood.”

“Do you have any questions, patient?”

“My arm hurts a little.”

“Well… that’s to be expected. We cut off your arm and nailed it to the bone, so of course it hurts, right?”

Benjamin looked up at me with eyes that seemed to say, “What kind of crazy person is this?” Ah, I shouldn’t have said it like that. I pondered my next words.

“On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain imaginable, how much does it hurt?”

“Uh, 3?”

Although it may seem primitive, asking for a pain rating out of 10 is the simplest and most efficient method of pain assessment.

A score of 3 isn’t severe pain, but…

What we must keep in mind is that pain should be 0 normally. Even a pain level of 1 can be enough to keep someone from sleeping.

For now, let’s just prescribe some acetaminophen.

“If it’s just a little pain, I’ll give you acetaminophen. It’s a mild painkiller, so it should reduce the pain at the surgical site.”

In terms of brand name, it’s just Tylenol.

I turned my gaze towards Istina and handed her a bottle of acetaminophen. Istina carefully accepted the bottle.

“Give the patient three pills a day.”

“Okay. Does it matter if it’s before or after meals?”

No.

“Give it after meals.”

Istina nodded.

“Istina. Did this patient have a fever?”

“No, they didn’t.”

A fever could develop. There’s no reason to change the decision to give Tylenol. We also need to prevent the wound from swelling again.

“Keep an eye on it, Istina. If the swelling gets worse, the stitches could burst or necrosis could occur. That’s why I prescribed anti-inflammatory medication.”

“I see.”

I pondered a bit more.

Should I use prophylactic antibiotics?

This patient underwent surgery in an operating room without positive pressure ventilation. There’s a high chance that dust got into the wound.

I turned back to the patient.

“There’s a possibility that dust got into the wound during the surgery. To prevent any bacterial infection, we’ll administer cefazolin.”

Thinking about it again, it might have been better to administer prophylactic antibiotics before the surgery. It’s not mandatory, but it’s preventive.

“What is that?”

“It’s a prophylactic antibiotic. It prevents the wound from getting infected by bacteria—um. This medicine will prevent the wound from rotting.”

The patient nodded.

Thinking about it, it must look like I’m pulling things out of thin air to others. I removed the air bubbles from the cefazolin syringe.

“I’m going to inject you now. Two grams of cefazolin will go in. The injection might hurt a bit.”

I injected the cefazolin into the patient’s opposite arm. This should almost eliminate the risk of infection. The patient winced.

I capped the needle and put it in my pocket.

It’s time to wrap up.

“By any chance, do you have any fingers on the injured arm that don’t move?”

“No, I don’t. It still hurts a bit when I move my fingers, though.”

I looked at the patient’s hands. All five fingers on the operated side moved well.

What else do I need to check? Ah, I haven’t checked for rhabdomyolysis. It might have come as a complication of compartment syndrome.

“Has the color of your urine changed by any chance?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

I hesitated for a moment, choosing my words carefully.

“If there was muscle damage due to compartment syndrome, muscle breakdown products like rhabdomyolysis might appear. In this case, kidney damage could change the color of your urine.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Istina also looked at me with blank eyes.

I thought about how to explain it simply. Even in my previous life, I didn’t omit specific details just to make explanations easier.

If the patient or guardian asked for an explanation again, I would explain it again. It’s important to convey the details accurately and precisely.

But how do I simplify this?

“So, if the muscle is damaged, it could come out in the urine, but in your case, the urine color is the same, which is a relief.”

It was a bit unfortunate.

If we could do a blood test here, we could see the rhabdomyolysis levels, kidney levels, infection levels, all in numbers.

“One more thing, let me explain. There are no muscles in the fingers. The fingers move because of the muscles attached to the arm. So, even if you only move your fingers, your arm will hurt.”

“I see.”

“Look at this.”

I showed the patient the tendons inside my wrist. Istina tilted her head.

“Here, it stretches from the tendons at the fingertips to the arm muscles. Since the surgical area is around here, it would hurt even if you just move your fingers, right?”

Benjamin nodded. This should be enough for him to understand. It’s not a difficult concept.

“I’ll be going now, patient. I’m glad the surgery and recovery seem to be going well.”

The student lying in the hospital bed nodded. Istina also followed me out of the ward.