Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 64 Microorganisms, Microscopes [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

After Liu Kuan paused for several breaths, a doctor couldn't help but ask, "Curing illness by performing a laparotomy and removing the intestines—isn't that a miraculous technique? How could a ulcer doctor actually do that?"

Liu Gan couldn't help but ask again, "I heard that Hua Tuo once wanted to perform a craniotomy on Cao Cao to treat his headache. I always thought it was a novelist's story."

"In reality, I've never heard of a doctor performing a caesarean section on someone to treat an illness. In fact, there were soldiers who survived after being cut open by the enemy, but after the doctors sutured and bandaged their wounds, they still died of fever and pus."

"How can cesarean section be used to treat patients when it is so dangerous?"

After Liu Gan finished asking, without waiting for Liu Kuan to explain, Li Sitong smiled and said, "Doctor Liu, have you forgotten what Deputy Minister Liu said before about paying attention to cleanliness and hygiene?"

"If there really are countless microorganisms in places invisible to the naked eye, and if some of them are harmful to humans, then it is not difficult to understand why surgeons in the past caused fever and pus formation when bandaging soldiers whose abdomens had been dissected."

"Come to think of it, surgeons also perform the disinfection mentioned by Deputy Liu during treatment. They might use fire to pierce the knife, or boil it in boiling water."

"This is just experience. Most ulcer doctors don't understand why, so they often neglect to do this, or simply skip it. This results in the patient's wound becoming hot and inflamed, making it difficult to save the patient."

At this point, Li Sitong looked at Liu Kuan and said, "Vice-Law Liu, if what I said is correct, then the laparotomy to remove the appendix should require quite high standards for the elimination of the bacteria you mentioned, right?"

After hearing what Li Sitong said, Liu Kuan couldn't help but sigh: We really can't underestimate the ancients.

As a provincial-level famous doctor, Li Sitong's medical talent and broad knowledge are truly amazing.

He nodded and said, "Doctor Li is right. Any surgery involving the human body has very high environmental requirements. Not only do they have to disinfect bacteria and viruses on various instruments, but they also have to be performed in a sterile environment."

"Oh, and one more thing: human hands and even the human body are full of germs. If you come into contact with a patient's wound, it's best to disinfect it or wear special sterilized gloves."

Zhu Biao was listening with great interest and was eating a snack in his hand, but suddenly he froze.

He looked at his seemingly clean hands, and seemed to see the countless microscopic bacteria and viruses crawling around as Liu Kuan had described.

What’s even more terrifying is that some of it has already entered his stomach!
Zhu Biao suddenly felt nauseous and quickly put down the half-eaten snack.

Liu Kuan noticed Zhu Biao's unusual behavior and couldn't help but laugh, "Your Highness, there's no need to be so nervous. Although human hands do harbor many germs, our bodies are not that fragile."

"After entering the human body, the vast majority of pathogens are eliminated by immune cells before they cause harm. Only a very small number of pathogens that cannot be eliminated by immune cells will cause disease."

Li Sitong listened and asked with great interest: "What are immune cells?"

"Well, that's a long story... Our human body is actually made up of countless different types of cells, and immune cells are one of them."

"They are like the soldiers of a country, responsible for killing invading bacteria and viruses, or diseased cells inside the body."

"Various immune cells make up the human immune system. It is thanks to the immune system that we can fight the harm of many pathogens and even recover from minor illnesses."

Hearing this, several doctors became thoughtful.

Zhu Biao sighed, "Hearing you put it that way, the human body really is like a country—if immune cells are the army, then diseased cells should be like rebels."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Your Highness's metaphor is very vivid."

At this time, Li Sitong also sighed, "Liu Fulang's idea that the human body is composed of countless cells of various types is truly novel. It's a pity that mortal eyes are limited and cannot see those cells, bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. It's really regrettable."

Hearing this, Liu Kuan said, "We humans cannot directly control fire, but we can make fire with tools like flint. We cannot split wood and split mountains with our bare hands, but we can do it with knives, axes, and explosives."

"So, why can't we invent a tool that allows people to see microorganisms with their naked eyes?"

Doctors such as Li Sitong's eyes lit up when they heard this, and they immediately thought hard about how to invent a tool that could see microorganisms.

Zhu Biao, however, had already thought of something and said excitedly, "My brother-in-law is saying that you can see microorganisms with a telescope?!"

His excitement caused him to change the way he addressed Liu Kuan. Li Sitong and the others paid no attention to the name, their focus solely on the "telescope."

As the others watched, Liu Kuan said, "Ordinary telescopes can only magnify a few times or even dozens of times; but to see microorganisms, you need to magnify them at least forty or fifty times."

"At this level, it's no longer called a telescope, but a microscope. In fact, a true microscope can often magnify microorganisms hundreds or even thousands of times."

Several doctors were shocked when they heard this.

One of the doctors even misunderstood and muttered, "If this microscope really has this ability, and can magnify a grain of rice hundreds or thousands of times, wouldn't that mean there will be no more famine in the world?"

Liu Kuan and Zhu Biao were stunned when they heard this.

After realizing the doctor's misunderstanding, Liu Kuan explained with a mixture of laughter and tears, "Doctor Sun, you've misunderstood. Whether it's a telescope or a microscope, they only magnify something in your sight, not actually make it bigger."

"You've probably heard of magnifying glasses and microscopes, or even seen them, right? Telescopes and microscopes work on similar principles, only they're more sophisticated."

These five were at least famous doctors in the prefecture. Even if they had never seen him, they had heard of him.

After listening to Liu Kuan's explanation, I finally understood.

Li Sitong said, "Since the Ming Dynasty can manufacture telescopes, it should also be able to manufacture microscopes, right?"

Liu Kuan said, "I have presented the telescope manufacturing method to Your Majesty. I heard that Your Majesty has ordered the craftsmen to try to make it, but I don't know how the progress is."

He said this and looked at Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao said, "I heard it's almost done, probably in the next few days."

Liu Kuan nodded. "Once the craftsmen have successfully developed a telescope, we can have them develop a microscope. I will write down the relevant information and submit it to Your Majesty."

Li Sitong said with emotion, "Vice-General Liu is so generous in presenting such a precious invention and recipe. This is truly a blessing to all people in the world. I admire you very much."

Liu Kuan thought, if he hadn't mentioned the microscope, it would have been fine, but since he did, how could he not offer the method to make it?
Otherwise, Old Zhu and Little Zhu would have thought he was up to something.

However, if the Ming Dynasty could have invented the microscope earlier, it would have indeed helped medical research, and might even have brought about earth-shaking changes in Ming Dynasty medical theory, directly entering the field of modern medicine.

And he and his family will also benefit from the development of Ming Dynasty medicine...
At this dinner at the Imperial Medical College, Liu Kuan, Zhu Biao, Li Sitong and others ate for a long time and talked a lot, so they returned home very late.

"Master is back?"

Xia He, Qiu Yue and Chun Lan were still waiting for Liu Kuan, but Dong Mei had fallen asleep on the table in the side hall.

After hearing Xia He and the others talking, he stood up, rubbing his eyes and said drowsily: "The young master is back..."

Liu Kuan smiled and glanced at Dongmei, saying, "Next time if I come back this late, you don't all have to wait for me—the night watchman can just wait."

Xia He said, "How can we dare to rest when the Master has not returned?"

Liu Kuan shook his head and said nothing more.

Then he asked Xia He and others to prepare the bath water, and then went to bed after taking a bath.

Tomorrow's morning court session, although Lao Zhu changed the time of the court session so that he doesn't have to get up at three or four o'clock, he can only delay it until five o'clock. If he gets there later, he might be late.

　It’s only been a month since the book was published, and it’s already almost 200,000 words.

　　Please collect, read and vote.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)