Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 63: Cowpox defeats smallpox, laparotomy and appendectomy [Seeking follow-up reading]

After Liu Gan finished speaking, the other doctors also looked at Liu Kuan, wanting to see how Liu Kuan would respond, or even wanting to see Liu Kuan make a fool of himself.

Although Zhu Biao felt that Liu Kuan was not the kind of person who liked to boast, he couldn't help but show a look of worry.

Because Liu Kuan's words were a bit too confident, even if he wanted to help, he didn't know how to start.

Under the gaze of everyone at the table, Liu Kuan only looked at Liu Gan and said, "Doctor Liu, do you know how to prevent smallpox? Or, in other words, how to prevent someone from getting smallpox again?"

Prevent smallpox?!
When they heard this, they were all surprised. They never expected that Liu Kuan would talk about this terrible epidemic that had no solution.

After all, Liu Gan was a famous doctor in the provincial capital. Although his face changed slightly, he was not panicked.

He thought for a moment and said, "As far as I know, there is only one kind of person who will not get smallpox, and that is someone who has had smallpox and recovered."

"Therefore, in some places, in order to prevent children from getting smallpox, they would find clothes from people who had had smallpox and give them to the children to wear."

"However, this method was not very effective, and many people even died from contracting smallpox using it."

"Some were so daring as to smear the pus from a recovering smallpox patient on his wounds, hoping to prevent the disease."

"However, this method is extremely dangerous. After applying the pus to the wound, the patient will also experience smallpox symptoms, but the mortality rate may be slightly lower."

"If the method Vice-President Liu mentioned for preventing smallpox is one of these two, then don't tell it out loud, as it will only make you look ridiculous."

At the end of his speech, Liu Gan became more and more calm, and even sneered, thinking that Liu Kuan was probably using these two unorthodox methods as capital to show off.

Liu Kuan was slightly surprised and said, "Doctor Liu is indeed a famous doctor in the prefecture. He is indeed knowledgeable and experienced. However, the method of preventing smallpox I mentioned, although similar to the vaccination method, is much less dangerous and has a very high success rate."

Everyone at the table was surprised again.

Liu Gan said in disbelief, "How could there be such a wonderful method? Deputy Liu, please stop making up stories."

Liu Kuan said, "When the first medical school in the Ming Dynasty was established, I wanted to offer this method as a gift so that the people of the world would no longer be harmed by smallpox. How could I have lied?"

Zhu Biao, who knew Liu Kuan's background, couldn't help but say, "If there really is such a wonderful method, it would be a great thing. Deputy Liu, please tell us quickly. If it is verified to be true, I will ask the emperor for a reward on your behalf!"

Liu Kuan didn't keep the secret and said, "This method is similar to the method of vaccinating against human pox, but it is not vaccinating against human pox, but against cowpox."

Vaccination against smallpox?

Several doctors were stunned after hearing this, and then they fell into deep thought.

Liu Kuan continued, "If you observe carefully, you will find that cows can also get smallpox, but I have never heard of a cow dying from smallpox."

"This shows that the mortality rate of cowpox is much lower than that of human pox. However, since both are smallpox and have the same origin, it is possible to gain immunity against smallpox through vaccination with cowpox vaccine."

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, the attic became extremely quiet for a moment.

But everyone at the table was thinking about the reason.

In the end, it was Li Sitong, a famous doctor from Jiangxi, who came to his senses first.

He clapped his hands and exclaimed, "This method is truly brilliant—vaccinating with cowpox vaccine to immunize against smallpox is truly unimaginable. In fact, if Deputy Liu hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that cows could get smallpox."

Zhu Biao's eyes sparkled as he asked, "Doctor Li is saying that the cowpox vaccination method is probably feasible now?"

Li Sitong smiled and said, "I believe that Vice-President Liu would not lie to your Highness."

At this time, Liu Kuan said, "Doesn't the Imperial Medical College have research capabilities? We can use the method of cowpox vaccination as our first topic for verification and research."

"Once it is confirmed to be feasible, we can teach it to doctors all over the country and have them promote the cowpox vaccination method in all regions. In this way, within twenty years, smallpox can be eradicated in the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Biao said, "That's right. Doctor Li and the others will be joining the medical school. Vice-President Liu, why don't you explain the cowpox vaccination method in more detail here?"

Liu Kuan said, "The method of vaccinating against cowpox is not difficult. I have just explained everything I know. If I must say anything, there are three points that need attention."

For a moment, everyone at the table pretended to listen, even Liu Gan, who had previously argued with Liu Kuan, was no exception.

"The first point is that whether you're taking the cowpox vaccine or administering it to a person, you should always be careful about how clean and hygienic it is."

"Because in places that we cannot see with our naked eyes, or in places that appear clean, there are actually many tiny microorganisms."

"Most of these microorganisms are harmful to the human body and can be called bacteria, viruses, etc. If they enter the human body, they may cause certain diseases."

"So whether it's getting a smallpox vaccination or getting treatment for other illnesses, you should try to ensure cleanliness and hygiene."

"For example, if someone has a cut or arrow wound, to prevent infection, some people heat the knife and iron the wound directly. This is because the high temperature kills microorganisms that are invisible to the naked eye on the wound and the knife." "In addition to high temperatures disinfecting bacteria and other microorganisms, alcohol also has a bacteria-disinfecting effect - alcohol is an extremely strong alcohol that can be obtained by distilling ordinary alcohol."

There was a strong liquor called Shaodaozi in the Song Dynasty - this strong liquor was obtained by distillation.

Therefore, by the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, people had already mastered the distillation method. So when Liu Kuan mentioned it here, everyone knew how to obtain alcohol.

"Secondly, whether it's for collecting the cowpox vaccine or administering it to humans, it would be best to invent a dedicated device."

"This will not only help promote the use of cowpox vaccination, but also facilitate disinfection, ensuring the hygiene of the vaccine and the vaccination site."

"As for the third point, it's best to administer the vaccine to live cattle immediately, because if the vaccine is out of the cattle's body for too long, it may lose its effectiveness."

After a pause, Liu Kuan sighed and said, "In fact, if the cowpox vaccination method can be used with a prepared inactivated vaccine, it will be much safer, and the possibility of the vaccinated person dying from it will be extremely low."

"Unfortunately, I don't know how to make an inactivated vaccine, or even what inactivation actually is. I just know that it's probably impossible to do it given the current conditions in the Ming Dynasty."

"That's all I know about the method of cowpox vaccination. As for the principles involved and any areas that need improvement, I'll leave it to you doctors to study and verify."

If some of the doctors had any doubts about the method of using cowpox to prevent smallpox, then after hearing what Liu Kuan said, these doubts were basically gone.

While others were still thinking, Liu Gan suddenly stood up, stepped back to the table, and bowed deeply to Liu Kuan.

This action made Liu Kuan stunned.

Fortunately, he was young and reacted quickly. He stood up immediately and supported Liu Gan.

"What does this mean, Doctor Liu?"

Liu Gan, with his beard and hair whitening, raised his head and said with a flushed face, "What Deputy Liu said about the method of using cowpox to prevent smallpox can indeed benefit the whole world."

"I was limited by my knowledge just now, and my words were offensive to Deputy Liu. This bow is my apology. I hope Deputy Liu will not mind it."

Liu Kuan didn't expect that Liu Gan would be willing to humble himself and apologize, which made him a little at a loss.

He thought for a moment and said, "Doctor Liu doesn't know me, so it's normal for him to have doubts."

Zhu Biao saw that Liu Kuan was not very good at handling this kind of situation and was a little embarrassed, so he stood up and said with a smile: "I think that whether it is Deputy Doctor Liu or Doctor Liu, they are all for the good of the Imperial Medical College."

"It's normal to have some misunderstandings when discussing medical matters. Just talk it out."

Then several people sat down again.

Li Sitong was quite curious about Liu Kuan and asked, "Previously, Deputy Director Liu said that surgery and ulcer surgery are different and cannot be replaced. Could you elaborate?"

Liu Kuan said: "In my opinion, the Department of Ulcers and Surgery does have many similarities, but the Department of Ulcers should be replaced by Surgery, rather than retaining the Department of Ulcers without Surgery."

"The Department of Ulcers and Surgeons primarily diagnoses and treats diseases on the surface of the human body, while Surgery uses methods similar to those used to treat ulcers and sores to treat most diseases both inside and outside the human body."

"Let me give you an example. For example, appendicitis, um, should it be called intestinal abscess?"

As Liu Kuan spoke, he became a little uncertain for a moment, because the names of many diseases in ancient and modern times are different.

Li Sitong said, "There are two types of intestinal abscesses. The acute form is sudden and causes severe abdominal pain. If the patient is not promptly sought medical attention, he or she will most likely die from the pain."

"The other type is an occasional attack, the pain is not severe, but if it is left untreated for a long time, it can become an emergency and be life-threatening."

After listening to this, Liu Kuan said, "Then appendicitis should be intestinal abscess. As far as I know, our intestines are divided into many types due to different structures and functions. Two of them are called the cecum and ileum."

"There's a long, thin, curved tube between the cecum and the ileum called the appendix. Intestinal abscesses are caused by the appendix becoming infected, feverish, and inflamed due to various reasons."

"If there were a doctor skilled in surgery, he could open the abdomen and remove the inflamed appendix, thus permanently curing the disease."

Liu Kuan stopped talking.

Because he found that almost everyone at the table was looking at him in amazement, as if they had heard something even more incredible than "vaccination with cowpox can prevent smallpox."

Only Doctor Li looked slightly more normal, even thoughtful.

　Sorry, the second update is late.

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　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)