NOVEL WEB Chapter 37
37. Thump Thump (3)
****
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A cautious knock.
Who could it be? If it were the Imperial Princess, she wouldn’t have knocked at all. If it were a fellow professor, the knock would’ve been firmer.
If it were Istina, she’d have just muttered and walked in—she doesn’t need my permission to enter the research lab anyway.
“Uh, good day. Is the professor here?”
It’s an undergraduate student!
I straightened my tie, stood up from my seat, and carefully opened the door. The student standing there was—
Amy. While Oliver seemed smarter based on what I’ve seen so far, that’s not important right now. What matters is effort.
Participants matter more than talent. Even if the number of participants is zero, just showing up to the competition makes you the winner, right? Starting today, Amy is the champion of undergraduate lectures.
“Are you here to apply for graduate school?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Just take a seat first.”
“Yes.”
Such a lackluster reaction.
Troubling. Why did Amy come here if not to apply for grad school?
“Why are you here?”
“Oh, hello. I heard we’re doing a human dissection practice, so I came to ask how it works.”
It’s no secret that healers at the Academy conduct dissections regularly.
After all, I myself go to the execution grounds, announce I’m a professor of healing from the Academy, and buy corpses.
There’s societal taboo, but necessity exists nonetheless. People in this era don’t understand what each organ does or how they function, yet the history of human dissection goes way back.
“So, you want to observe the dissection practice?”
“Yes.”
“Thinking about grad school yet?”
“I’m not sure yet. Isn’t it something I can decide after graduation?”
“Not really. Amy, look—it’s always better to prepare early. For your career prospects, financially—graduate students even get paid. Plus, declaring your intent to attend grad school gives you advantages when it comes to early graduation.”
“Huh, b-but…”
“Speak freely.”
Amy quietly mumbled something under her breath.
“If it’s so great, why isn’t anyone else doing it?”
Checkmate. This kid catches on too quickly. That’s why sharp undergraduates give me trouble.
“I’m not sure either. Maybe they had bad professors, lacked passion for scholarship, or weren’t smart enough?”
“Umm…”
Amy took a small step backward.
“Anyway, meet me in front of the underground dungeon by midnight tomorrow. You can bring two other students if you’d like. Paper, pens, masks, and gloves are mandatory.”
“Understood.”
Another failure in recruiting grad students.
Amy left my office. I watched her retreating back as I thought: Still, the planned dissection lecture needs preparation regardless.
****
And now, midnight has arrived. In front of the underground dungeon stood Istina, Amy, and Oliver.
“Hey, everyone’s here.”
“Good day.”
“Good day, I’m Oliver.”
“It’s Amy.”
The greetings buzzed around.
We must prove the existence of capillaries today.
That’s the goal.
We’ll confirm the location of major blood vessels in Cadava, observe the differences between arteries and veins, cut out liver tissue, and examine it under a microscope.
It’s a bit disappointing not having a chalkboard though.
The underground dungeon was chilly—a blessing since warmth might’ve caused the corpse to decompose faster.
We cautiously put on our equipment:
Aprons, gloves, plague doctor masks, black gowns.
“Alright, let’s begin the dissection.”
“Um… who is this person?”
“Don’t know. They came from the execution grounds.”
I don’t know either. We’ve had similar conversations before; I have no way of identifying them since we acquire bodies post-execution.
“Today’s plan: remove and observe the patient’s heart, confirm the position of major blood vessels, and demonstrate that blood circulates.”
Amy immediately furrowed her brow.
“Does blood really circulate?”
“Yeah.”
“But aren’t arteries and veins disconnected? How can circulation happen?”
Good question. Let’s see it for ourselves.
“Let’s open it up first.”
“How do we open it?”
With scissors.
I began cutting through the ribcage one by one with metal shears. This body seems to be in better condition than the last one.
“Amy, what does the heart do?”
“It sends blood throughout the body.”
Correct so far.
“Right. So where does the blood entering the heart come from?”
“Isn’t it made in the liver?”
Half-right, half-wrong. An adult liver only produces certain components of blood. Blood travels out via arteries and returns through veins.
Here’s the issue: ancient people weren’t idiots. It’s not entirely wrong to say all veins pass through the liver.
Veins from the digestive system send nutrient-rich blood to the heart via the portal vein. It’s a partially correct statement, making it hard to refute.
“To summarize: the heart pumps blood throughout the body. After circulating, the blood returns through veins.”
“But there’s no proof connecting veins and arteries. Shouldn’t they be considered separate systems?”
“Let’s see.”
Having done this before, it was easy.
I removed the heart and handed it to Oliver.
Unfortunately, to properly observe the aorta, I’ll need to remove other organs first. I started cutting them out one by one.
Istina assisted.
“Just keep pulling them out. There’s no other choice.”
“Yes.”
After some time…
“Look. Here’s the aortic arch above the heart, and below it runs the thoracic and abdominal aorta, right?”
“I can’t see clearly.”
“Stick your hand in and feel around. Yeah, that’s the aorta.”
Oliver wrinkled his nose but followed instructions.
“That’s the aorta. You know that every artery has a corresponding vein, right? This is the inferior vena cava.”
“Yes.”
“Blood enters the heart through veins and exits through arteries. This much you already know.”
Amy and Oliver nodded.
“Fill the heart with water. See how much it holds?”
I submerged the heart in water, squeezed out air and clots, then squeezed again. Water poured out.
“About this much. Over 100 milliliters. Since the heart beats once or twice per second, that means it moves six liters per minute, 360 liters per hour.”
The volume of blood passing through the heart is roughly six liters per minute. Obviously, the liver can’t produce that much.
“Ah.”
“Exactly. It’s absurd to think the liver produces six liters of blood per minute. Besides, the amount of material entering the liver isn’t nearly that much.”
“That’s true…?”
“The liver itself is less than two liters in volume. Neither the liver nor any other organ in the human body could possibly produce that much blood.”
I handed the liver from the dissection table to Istina. Three large blood vessels connect to it: the hepatic artery, hepatic vein, and portal vein.
Istina examined the liver.
“See? There are three major blood vessels going in and out of the liver: the artery, vein, and portal vein which carries nutrients from the intestines.”
Amy looked confused.
“So… does that mean blood just continuously circulates like plumbing? It isn’t produced, consumed, or absorbed within the body?”
“Pretty much.”
She seemed skeptical. Breaking established beliefs isn’t easy.
“This contradicts everything the academic community currently believes.”
“They’re wrong.”
Oliver raised his hand this time.
“If blood circulates, then there must be a point outside the heart where arteries and veins connect, right?”
“True.”
“You also know that the blood flowing through arteries and veins differs in form, appearance, and properties. They should be considered separate systems.”
This is the problem. Arteries and veins connect through capillaries, which are scattered throughout the body. They’re hard to observe, yes, but not impossible—with a microscope.
“Give me the liver.”
I picked up the razor again and carefully sliced the liver tissue as thin as possible. A sample thin enough to let light pass through was successfully cut.
“Istina, do you have a microscope?”
“I brought it, but we don’t have any stains.”
“Istina, what are we trying to observe?”
“Blood vessels.”
“What flows through blood vessels?”
“Uh… blood?”
“And what color is blood?”
Ah. Istina quietly muttered something. If our goal is to observe blood vessels, we don’t need stains. Hemoglobin already provides the color.
“In that case… let’s check.”
Logically, it makes sense.
The liver contains one of the highest concentrations of capillaries. As soon as we placed the liver tissue under the microscope, we could observe the capillaries.
Red blood cells lined up inside the capillaries. Some capillaries were narrower than red blood cells, forcing them to squeeze through.
“This is the essence of blood.”
“Are those round particles blood?”
“Yeah. Red blood cells.”
This will completely dispel any notion that blood gets “consumed.”
Blood consists of living cells. Veins and arteries connect through capillaries.
“This theory will flip the academic community upside down—if everything the professor says is correct.”
I believe everything I said is correct.
Obviously.
****
Amy reevaluated people.
Istina turned out to be tougher than she appeared. Professor Asterix, while seemingly brilliant, was either crazy or just weird—and maybe both.
Graduate school might indeed benefit her career and skills. But why does it feel so unappealing?