Medicine in General

[Mission]

Would it be safe to assume then that her part in nursing him back to health would involve bringing him food and water, changing the bedclothes, burning his clothing (if economically feasable), or things of that nature?

Her who? If you're talking about a wife or someone, I suppose so. My notes are concerned with what the surgeon did, not the patient's family, so I couldn't say with any certainty.

Poor surgeons. Now I'm wondering what other diseases they diagnosed by taste, and I know I'll regret asking!

I don't know if they diagnosed any other diseases by tasting urine, but the study of urine is a whole separate medical art. It was something usually done by the physicians, not the surgeons. (The physicians were much higher on the medical totem pole than the surgeons.) I did find a sort of quick and dirty summary of examining urine in one surgical manual, but since it probably wouldn't have been something done on a ship unless the surgeon had some previous experience with that art, I didn't read it. None of the sea surgeon manuals talk about it in the treatment descriptions and that one I mention is the only land surgeon manual where I've noticed it. I have lots of books that I want to read, so I tend to skim or skip things that don't seem germane to my research.

[Red_Dawn]

Would it be safe to assume then that her part in nursing him back to health would involve bringing him food and water, changing the bedclothes, burning his clothing (if economically feasable), or things of that nature?

Her who? If you're talking about a wife or someone, I suppose so.

Sorry I wasn't clearer. "Her" would be my character's mother.

My notes are concerned with what the surgeon did, not the patient's family, so I couldn't say with any certainty.

Ahh. So basically your notes say what to pour down the patient's throat, but not what the surgeon advised the family to do after he left (except maybe "give him this purge 3 times a day, and if he gets worse, I'll come back and bleed him").

I don't know if they diagnosed any other diseases by tasting urine, but the study of urine is a whole separate medical art. It was something usually done by the physicians, not the surgeons. (The physicians were much higher on the medical totem pole than the surgeons.)

And considering the family's socio-economic level, they probably couldn't afford a physcian even if there was one in their village. Better stick with his mother dying of TB then; might easer for the surgeon to detect. Thanks!

I know the feces of a paitent would be examined for distinct odors to help with diagnosis depending on the systems presenting

Thanks! Good to know.

Edited August 24, 2010 by Red_Dawn