I had prepared several needles in advance.
Isn't this an era without proper sterilization?
No, even in times when sterilization was done well, syringes were usually disposable.
Because if handled incorrectly, they could become a breeding ground for infectious diseases.
Moreover, this is the 19th century.
Even someone who looks perfectly healthy would probably be teeming with bacteria or viruses if tested.
I don't know for sure…
But wouldn't even our Lord Jamie here be carrying one or two venerable STDs like syphilis or hepatitis B?
"Why? Why can't I? Surely not!"
Ah, I didn't take blood from our Lord Jamie either.
It wasn't out of respect for the elderly.
It was just medically risky.
Do you know why an old person is old?
Simply put, they're aged.
Not just on the outside, but on the inside too.
If blood is suddenly lost, the heart has to beat stronger and faster to compensate, while the peripheral blood vessels need to constrict. Could our Lord Jamie's aged body handle that?
"No, that's not the reason."
"Then why are you stopping me, a proud noble of the British Empire, from offering to sacrifice myself!"
How can he say that?
The situation is already suspicious.
We have to give matching blood…
Hoho.
I just blurted that out, didn't I?
And now you want me to explain hemodynamics on top of that?
I couldn't do that.
"I think the age difference might be too great, so it wouldn't be good!"
"Ah, is that so? Aha."
So I ended up saying something a bit strange.
It's like…
The story of the witch who bathed in the blood of young people in the Middle Ages…
Well, it actually worked out.
Since there were already plenty of stories with similar nuances, Lord Jamie understood and let it go.
Actually, since Lord Jamie isn't even direct family, it was even more meaningless.
"Now then…"
Meanwhile, I inserted a syringe into the patient's blood vessel and drew some blood.
I put it into four iron containers and mixed it with the family members' blood.
Looking at it now, coincidentally, there are four blood types.
Well… if you include Rh-, there are more.
But let's just go with this.
If I go into all that, I won't be able to perform the surgery!
"Hmm."
"Is this really true?"
"Matching blood exists… This is too radical an idea."
Anyway, we started staring at the four iron containers.
It didn't take long.
The blood that didn't match clotted almost immediately.
Fortunately, one container remained unclotted.
"Oh? It really does this!"
In less than a minute, we could all see the difference between the clotted and unclotted blood.
The students were truly amazed.
So was Liston.
But not Blundell.
"No, actually, I've seen this a lot too. When you mix blood, it just clots? I thought only sick people's blood had that tendency…"
Did I just spout such radical nonsense without thinking?
It's all…
Huh?
There are records from this era too, you see.
Even in experiments done over a century ago, there were mentions of this.
Some blood clots, some doesn't.
When you think about it, it's obvious.
It's an era of truly insane experimental spirit.
They just couldn't connect it clinically.
"If it's not a country that fought as many wars as Joseon… I can understand."
Even so, connecting the dots itself is difficult, so I had to make excuses.
"Oh my… Is Joseon good at war too?"
"Hmm."
They say lies beget lies.
Was our homeland good at war…?
At least we never invaded anyone.
There's even a saying that we're a peace-loving people.
It's not a phrase I particularly like.
It just sounds like another way of saying we were weak.
'Ugh. Is this… the national pride within me?'
Something stirred inside me for a moment.
"A general named Eulji Mundeok even brought down the dynasty that existed before the Qing."
"Oh my. Didn't you say the country was much smaller?"
"The phrase '1 against 18' is common in Joseon."
"One against eighteen? Is that even possible?"
Blundell tilted his head in confusion.
Then I thought maybe I'd gone too far.
1 against 18…
It really is an unbelievable story.
"Why wouldn't it be possible?"
A savior appeared.
Liston.
Hoho.
18 people?
Even 180 people would have a hard time against a single Liston with a sword.
Actually, in fights, momentum is incredibly important, more than you'd think.
"There could be many like me."
"Ah, yes, yes. Not many, but they exist. There was Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who was in the navy… something like the Royal Navy."
"Hmm, tell me. I like war stories."
Since we confirmed the blood didn't clot, the owner of that blood—the patient's brother—is now a living blood bag.
'400mL should be safe, right?'
Will 400 be enough?
It's just one bag at most.
I don't know.
I don't have the proper tools or methods to measure that right now.
We can't just draw it out and give it like Blundell did, actually.
"He was a great admiral who destroyed the Japanese military. He fought with just 12 ships against 133 and won."
"Oh my… A great admiral like Nelson…"
"Exactly."
I had the brother lie down next to the patient, inserted a syringe needle into his blood vessel, connected an iron tube to the needle, and then inserted another needle into the patient's blood vessel.
If the brother's position were higher, the blood would flow faster due to the pressure difference.
But if I did that artificially, the brother could die.
Moreover, since it's an iron container, if the angle is too wrong, the blood might not flow well, or it could damage the blood vessel on either side.
"How impressive. I must visit Joseon someday."
Anyway, I finished this complicated task while distractedly talking about war.
Blundell started asking questions belatedly, but it was fine.
I'd already connected it.
Besides, it's not without logic.
I studied transfusions while preparing for the C-section.
As far as I know, one of the surgeries with the most bleeding is obstetrics and gynecology surgeries, including C-sections, so it was natural.
"But how is this possible? They're lying down the same way. How can the blood just flow?"
"Haha. Do you know Robert Boyle?"
"Of course. The chemist, right?"
"He already experimented with transfusions between dogs."
"Experiments…?"
"Yes. Now, let's think."
Thank you, Boyle.
Boyle's law gave me a headache from studying and memorizing it, but now it's paying me back like this.
Geniuses of the past didn't just dig into one field; they explored many, didn't they?
Boyle was the same, right? He even did transfusions.
Not on humans, but between dogs.
Anyway, it was a fairly advanced method… better than Blundell's.
There probably wasn't much medical consideration, but he proved that dogs could survive that way.
'Proof or not, if the brother dies, it's a disaster.'
Originally, when exchanging something, whether it's blood or an organ, the donor is more important.
If a healthy person dies during a medical procedure, it's a real catastrophe.
So, I continued talking while monitoring the brother's complexion.
"Now, if you dissect, you'll see that blood vessels are connected, right?"
"Yes. Well… we haven't found the vessel connecting arteries and veins… but I personally think there must be small blood vessels."
"Haha, this guy. There's no rule saying it must be that way, right? There's also a theory that blood is created in the heart and also in the periphery."
Ha.
Damn it.
I want to kill Liston.
But since I can't, let's just move on.
Don't I know by now that you shouldn't try to teach too much at once in the 19th century?
"Well… Anyway, we agree that blood exists in a limited space, right?"
"Of course, it must be connected by small vessels?"
"Well… whether it's being created or not, the space should be the same."
So I moved on.
Then I continued with a story that would be difficult to explain if I were thinking alone.
Boyle.
What a true genius.
"Now, then, that space is fixed, and what fills it is blood. On one side, like this patient, a lot of blood has been lost. If it were a solid, there would be empty space, but blood is a liquid, and when you dissect, you see blood vessels are soft. So what happens?"
"They would shrivel up."
"Yes. If you check the pulse, it becomes clearer—the pressure drops."
"Right, blood pressure decreases. So higher blood pressure is better."
This time, I wanted to kill Blundell.
How can he so confidently spout such wrong things in turn?
But…
Well, it's not entirely incomprehensible.
If blood pressure drops, people die.
So thinking that higher blood pressure is better is natural.
Though the fact that this persisted until the mid-20th century is a bit…
Anyway, I let it slide again this time.
"That's right. Now, this brother here has normal blood pressure, and this side has low blood pressure, right? So what happens?"
"Ah… Ah! It will push from the high-pressure area to the low-pressure area?"
"Yes. Boyle already experimented with transfusions between dogs in the 17th century. He cut one dog's blood vessel to make it bleed profusely, lowering its blood pressure, and then let blood flow from a healthy dog."
"Ah, then if the pressure equalizes, the blood will stop flowing, right?"
"Yes, if that happens, well, both survive."
"Aha, I see. This… this is a perfect method indeed!"
No.
If it were perfect, we would have continued doing it this way, right?
Blood donation didn't become a thing just for the convenience of blood storage.
I said it stops when the pressure equalizes, right?
Is there any guarantee that equal pressure is normal?
There isn't.
There will often be cases where both die, that's what I mean.
Especially in a situation like now, where the bleeding site has been removed, it might be different, but if there's a hole, it's like pouring water into a leaky jar—you just keep pouring blood in.
If you're using blood bags, you can buy time by giving them while stopping the bleeding.
That's why they talk about giving ten bags or whatever.
Ten bags mean that person has none of their own blood left.
But doing it while connected to a living blood bag like this?
'They'll die… absolutely die.'
It's moving because of pressure, right?
There's a hole?
Then the only effect is making the blood flow out faster; there's nothing else to gain.
Well, if you can buy even a little time and stop the bleeding in the meantime, it might be different…
The problem is that it's a gamble with human lives, not a waste of blood bags.
'I'll stop it later.'
Well, she's surviving now, right?
That's enough.
I decided to smile for now.
Even from the short conversation we had, I knew there were still plenty of issues left, like blood pressure and all…
But the more that happens, the more you have to smile.
Otherwise, you become the Joker.
That would be a disaster.