Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Heart Throbbing (4)
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Oliver let out a sigh.
"This theory will turn academia upside down again. If everything the professor says is correct."
I was convinced my words were right.
It'd be hard for me to think otherwise.
"Anyway, do you get it? Arteries and veins connect through capillaries, and those can be easily observed with a microscope."
"It does look that way."
"If this theory holds, most mysteries around blood circulation get solved, right? Cardiac output, how blood is produced, even its components."
This time, Estina Ivyheart tilted her head.
"But if blood isn't absorbed by the tissues, what do the tissues eat to keep going?"
"Blood changes its makeup as it travels through the body. It leaves the heart loaded with oxygen and nutrients, then comes back carrying carbon dioxide and waste."
"Where does the waste go?"
"The kidneys."
It was a lack of chemistry knowledge to back up the physiology. I wasn't sure if oxygen had been discovered in this world yet, but Estina didn't seem to grasp the concept clearly.
Had they found the periodic table?
If they understood chemistry, it'd be easier to get that ammonia and urea—breakdown products of proteins—contain nitrogen.
They'd see why oxygen gets used up when glucose's carbon oxidizes, and why the byproduct is carbon dioxide.
That felt too far off for now, though.
Let's see, what hadn't I checked last time?
"So, does blood only flow one way? How does the circulation actually work?"
"It starts in the left ventricle. Blood goes from the left ventricle through the aortic arch to the whole body, then back through the superior and inferior vena cava to the right atrium."
Amy traced a vein with her finger.
"Right, that. The right atrium connects to the right ventricle, and from there it heads to the pulmonary artery."
"Why to the lungs?"
"To pick up air. You know gases can dissolve in water, right?"
"Yeah."
Seeing it directly would make it click faster.
I cut out the inferior vena cava. I cleaned out the thrombus inside, checked its patency—there were things they needed to grasp.
Amy took the piece of inferior vena cava.
"Look inside. See the valves?"
"Yes."
"They're like doors that let blood flow only one way. Try pouring water through it once."
Estina Ivyheart and Amy poured water into the severed vena cava segment. Dark red clots washed out from spots along the vessel.
It didn't go exactly as planned.
The water leaked out through side branches instead of getting stopped by the valves. Still, the point about valves preventing backflow should've gotten across.
"Anyway, it flows one direction, right?"
"Yeah."
Amy took the vena cava with a disappointed look. In my past life, we'd handle cadavers so carefully not to nick a single nerve or vessel.
Here, the knives were dull, you could just buy cadavers for money, and poor preservation meant nothing looked delicate no matter what.
Dissections ended up a bit bolder.
"So, what the valve structure means is that blood flows one way through the body and lungs like a one-way highway?"
I nodded. Spot on. It might clash with academia's current common knowledge.
Changing a scientific paradigm wasn't about one experiment or statement.
It required handling every chained rebuttal that followed.
"It really is amazing..."
"Let's wrap up a little and organize what we've seen."
We had to finish before sunrise.
I covered the cadaver again. Last time I'd walked around masked and gotten mistaken for a ghost, so despite the hassle, I packed up the gear before leaving.
"Dissection over."
"Good work."
"Be careful not to touch the body with bare skin. Could get contaminated with bacteria or toxins."
I took off my gloves and mask.
The corpse smell wasn't as bad as expected. Probably all the alcohol in the basement. The students followed my lead and removed their protective gear.
One last thing to sort out.
"Oliver. Amy. So, no thoughts on joining grad school?"
"Not yet."
"Not sure."
Lukewarm responses.
I pondered a bit more.
"No, listen. Even right now, if you join as my grad students, your names could end up in the healing textbook."
Just look at Estina Ivyheart—she was already co-author on the cholera paper. Grad school meant wealth and fame on top.
They weren't jumping on it?
"Uh, I'll think about it."
"I'll consider it more."
They really didn't want to come.
The dissection practice had gone well, but it seemed even Amy and Oliver had no plans for grad school yet. What a shame.
Getting Estina Ivyheart early in the semester was real luck. I'd have been in trouble without her.
Blood circulation.
That was our current research topic.
Let's recap. We'd made a sphygmomanometer for clinical use, clarified the heart's structure, discovered valves in veins and experimentally confirmed their role.
Finally, we'd observed capillaries in liver tissue. All the experimental groundwork was there. Now we just needed to write and present the paper.
No clue how long that'd take.
"The key here is this, Estina Ivyheart."
"What is it?"
"Cardiac output: six liters per minute."
The most irrefutable evidence.
Six liters leave the heart every minute, and six liters return. It wouldn't add up unless it was recirculating.
No organ in the body could consume six liters in a minute, and none could produce it that fast.
"How'd you figure out cardiac output?"
"Filled a cadaver heart with water and squeezed it."
"Ah. Right."
A heart holds about 0.1 or 0.2 liters. A dead one doesn't relax properly, but squeeze hard and you get roughly half out. That was the conclusion.
During exercise, it could ramp up to three or four times normal. Heart rates topped 150 during intense activity.
"Oh, right, Estina Ivyheart. I had something to tell you."
"What?"
"Talked to the undergrads earlier and realized how lucky I am to have met you first. Those guys have zero interest in grad school."
"They might. They haven't graduated yet."
True. Realistically, mid-semester grad admissions were tough. We'd probably get some at graduation season this year?
"Why are you smiling?"
"It's nothing."
I'd keep asking around for a while.
Amy rolled her pen across the back of her hand. Truth be told, there were several reasons the other students weren't lining up to be Asterix's grad students.
First: Estina Ivyheart.
Whether treating patients, doing research, or secretly dissecting—whatever the reason.
The sight of the professor and Estina Ivyheart wandering around like corpses at dawn was enough to deter even the seriously interested.
Second: Asterix himself.
All sorts of wild rumors swirled about this professor. Parachute hire, quack, genius—the works.
The strongest fear was of the unknown. One thing was certain: working under him meant grueling labor.
That was why.
Why they didn't want to do grad school.
Still, Amy's mind was changing. What she'd seen during the dissection practice was real.
Asterix's knowledge, his approach to patients. Even his talk of reshaping medicine. She did want to try grad school, but... well.
Honestly, it scared her too.
Princess Mint was sitting in my lab again today. She just dropped by whenever she had free time, it seemed.
Guess I'd let her hang out.
"Teacher Asterix. Look at this."
"Hm?"
Pop!
Mana sparkled above the princess's hand. Junk on the desk floated up.
"That's impressive."
The princess was a mage. She didn't seem especially talented compared to others, but her diligent study was paying off.
"You weren't about to say something sarcastic?"
"No, this really is amazing."
The princess patted the sofa next to her, but I didn't budge from my seat.
Mint seemed especially cheerful today.
New spell?
"What have you been up to lately, teacher?"
Instead of answering, I glanced at the specimen on the desk. Two hearts in alcohol. Formalin would've been better, but I had no idea where to get it.
Alcohol would do for now.
"Eh. Those are real?"
"Yes. Human hearts."
"You cut them out of a corpse yourself?"
"Yes."
Princess Mint gave me a strange look. Fair enough—normal people don't put human hearts on their desks.
I scratched my head.
"Needed for research."
"Hm. If you say so."
The princess quickly lost interest.
"Teacher. If you're not busy, want to hit the Academy cafe for a bit? Kinda boring going alone."
"Uh..."
"Busy?"
"Sure."
Come to think of it, she was kinda pitiful. Mint must've been bored without friends. Though... going with a professor probably wasn't much better than solo.