Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Heart Pounding (1)
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Imperial Palace Infirmary.
Violet was lounging around by herself. Asterix had headed to the Academy, and the other healers were either off playing today or running late.
Anyway, none of them were there.
When Asterix was around the infirmary, he handled even the smallest tasks. He was the type who couldn't stand idleness.
Now that he was gone, at least one person had to clock in on time and hold down the fort. That someone was Violet.
Knock knock knock.
After a firm knock, First Imperial Prince Manfred opened the door to the infirmary.
"Sorry to bother you when you're busy—"
Manfred glanced around the infirmary, where Violet sat alone. Empty desks and chairs everywhere. Violet scratched her head awkwardly.
"Not busy?"
"Did I hear that wrong?"
"Where is everyone?"
"Well, they all seem to have things to do. The academic world has been so lively lately, what with all the fuss over new theories."
The prince wasn't the one paying the imperial healers' salaries, but there was zero benefit in getting on his bad side. Violet glossed over it as best she could.
"Hmm, I see. You're working hard."
Thankfully, Manfred wasn't the type to nitpick his subordinates' faults. Violet let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"I've heard the medical world has been in an uproar lately. You went on that trip to the Academy recently too, didn't you, Violet?"
"Yes. They say Asterix has turned the entire academic community upside down."
The prince nodded.
"That's actually what I wanted to talk about."
"Oh, right. Go ahead."
"You saw the paper, didn't you? The one Asterix wrote. On cholera-like dysentery. Some of the empire's higher-ups are taking an interest."
Violet had seen the paper before.
Honestly, though, she didn't think it was all that groundbreaking. Sure, solving the problem was impressive, but what else was there besides Asterix's personal skills?
"Like you, Your Highness?"
"Including me."
"Ah, I actually just met Professor Asterix recently. I read the paper too."
"What did you think?"
"It's still experimental. Even if it's correct, it's too soon to draw conclusions."
"Some are saying that. That this medical discovery will shift the academic paradigm and even change how the nation operates."
If Asterix's paper was true—if plagues and diseases were mostly solvable and preventable, contrary to common belief—then the government's approach would have to change too.
"Uh, I wouldn't know about that."
"Why? Was there something wrong?"
"No, I just don't know."
Violet really didn't.
She thought it was too early to judge. There wasn't enough experimental verification yet. In fact, Violet hadn't even gotten her hands on a microscope.
That was the reaction from some bureaucrats who'd read Asterix's paper on cholera-like dysentery.
If disasters like that could really be stopped just by mixing clean water into drinks, then what the hell had they been doing all this time?
"Explain the paper's contents. You're an expert on this topic too, aren't you, Violet?"
"Ah, yes."
Violet rummaged through her desk drawer and pulled out the academic journal. Where was it again?
"The core of this paper is that. Diseases are caused by microparticles, and cholera-like dysentery spreads through water."
I pressed my temple. A letter from Prince Manfred. Ah, this lecture won't be easy.
Trouble had cropped up. A lecture in front of the prince—what a hassle. And with other government officials in the audience too...
It was a chance to influence policy, which didn't come every day, so it wasn't meaningless. But I had blood research to do, and patients waiting.
Anyway.
I'll finish this up first and think later.
"Estina. Can you get a pressure gauge?"
"Not sure. Might be one in the lab."
"Swing by the lab storeroom later and bring one if you find it. For measuring blood pressure."
"Got it. I'll look."
A sphygmomanometer consists of a stethoscope, an inflatable cuff for the arm, and a pressure gauge.
You could measure blood pressure the old-school way with just a pressure gauge and stethoscope, no fancy gear. But it takes practice.
I already had the stethoscope, so I just needed the gauge this time. The cuff could be jury-rigged easily enough.
Estina came back after digging through the lab for a while. An hour or two later.
There was a pressure gauge. An antique one made of wood, ivory, and mercury.
Better wear a mask when handling it? Mercury might be leaking.
There was a rubber tube somewhere, and something like an inflatable band too. Apparently part of a device for blowing off dust.
This world seemed to have about 18th-century tech levels. Though with magic-made items and magitech, there might be 20th-century stuff too.
Anyway, I had no idea what these parts were originally for. Provenance doesn't matter.
What mattered was that half a day's tinkering had produced a makeshift blood pressure monitor. Now to test it. On whom?
"But how do you use this thing?"
"Sit down first. Wrap this around your arm."
Explaining would be a bit involved.
Estina sat with the cuff around her arm.
"You know what pressure is, right?"
"Yes."
"Blood moves through vessels at a fairly constant speed and pressure. We want to know what that pressure is."
"Yes."
"The heart beats, right? When it pumps blood—squeezes it out—that's peak systolic pressure, then it drops. That's systolic and diastolic blood pressure."
She was starting to look confused.
"Uh, yes."
"Now we'll place the stethoscope over the brachial artery and listen to the vessel sounds."
I plugged the stethoscope into my ears.
"Normally, there's no sound. When you press the vessel harder than blood pressure, blood doesn't flow, no sound."
"Ah?"
"Now we'll inflate the cuff around your arm with the air pump... Let's see. Normal systolic is around 120, so pump to 150. 180 for suspected hypertension."
I pumped the cuff on her arm up to 150.
It was easy to miss, but when cuff pressure is between systolic and diastolic, the pulsing vessel presses on the cuff, causing subtle pulsations in the internal pressure.
Observing that alone could actually—
"I have no idea what you're saying."
"No sound right now. Slowly release air from the cuff, and at some point, you'll hear blood flow again."
I focused on the stethoscope. Hmm, hearing something. Equipment issue?
"Yes."
"That's systolic. Keep releasing, and eventually blood pressure exceeds cuff pressure, flow unimpeded—no more sound. That's diastolic."
Estina's brachial artery read about 130/90. Was she tense about something?
Estina scrunched her eyes.
"I have absolutely no clue what you're talking about!"
Should I explain in more detail?
I pulled out paper and pen.
"It's not complicated at all."
"Yes."
"Look. When cuff pressure is between diastolic and systolic arterial pressure, you hear turbulence noise. Also sounds when pressures equalize."
"It's difficult."
A graph. Tricky concept, but maybe visualizing it would help?
The pen moved across the paper.
"See? Represent blood pressure as a waveform over time. X-axis time, Y-axis pressure. It's a wave between systolic peak and diastolic trough. Start cuff at 150 and decrease steadily—that's a straight line graph."
Still just blank stares.
"Uh..."
Maybe skip the explanation? At this point, it might not be about details.
Had Estina even heard of pressure, laminar flow, or turbulence before?
I couldn't teach her all of high school physics. How to put it simply?
"Think simple, Estina. Sound happens between highest and lowest pressure. It's just checking where the sound starts and stops."
"I'll just memorize the steps."
That worked too. I nodded. At least she tried—progress?
"It'll get better writing papers. Drawing related graphs, it'll click eventually."
"I guess so..."
Math and physics foundations matter, but clinically, you don't calculate it. Understanding enables publishing research.
A preserved cadaver heart floated in a jar next to Estina.
Heavier than alcohol, it seemed. Closer to the bottom than the top.
"Still, I'll give it a shot!"
Estina reignited her resolve.
That's right, that's my grad student. What can't a grad student do?
"Teacher Lee. Try putting an elephant in the fridge."
"Pardon?"