Garrett successfully used an angiography technique to exchange for a blood test method used in Black Crow Swamp.
Upon receiving it, he felt a bit disappointed. The technique primarily involved using chemical reagents and precipitating titration reactions. Garrett vaguely remembered that methods for testing blood potassium and sodium didn’t seem to use this approach.
It could only be considered a technical reserve. Garrett rolled up his sleeves and started experimenting: from the reagents used, he tried to deduce what exactly this method was testing.
The identification technique provided the reagent’s name, but it wasn’t a name familiar to him from his previous life.
Garrett buried himself in the laboratory, busy with various bottles and jars, working diligently. After two days, he was suddenly pulled out of the lab by Priest Donald:
Garrett curiously followed him out. Priest Donald had been at the fifth-level priest rank for two or three years and was quite experienced, proficient in both [Healing Serious Wounds] and [Remove Disease].
These two divine spells were enough to deal with most illnesses. So, what was the situation?
Of course, the cases Priest Donald encountered were somewhat different from those treated by other healers. Coming from a noble background, he was a minority at the Oakwood Clinic, making him quite popular among noble and wealthy patients.
And wealthy people often had peculiar illnesses, different from those of the poor...
They walked through the courtyard, down the corridor, and into the consultation room. As soon as they entered, a young man at the table lifted his head. Dressed lavishly, with curly hair and a face painted as white as snow. Garrett frowned silently at the sight:
Could you at least clean the powder off your face?
Coming to see a doctor with a face full of lead powder—not to mention the lead poisoning itself—it makes diagnosis much more difficult for the doctor!
He restrained himself from casting a cleansing spell to remove the lead powder from the young man’s face. Observing carefully, he saw the young man clutching his lower abdomen, sitting crookedly on the chair, with a pained expression and tightly clamped legs. This posture... was it a urinary system disease?
"This is Mage Nordmark, the director of our clinic. This is Sir Harrington," Priest Donald quickly introduced. The young man looked at Garrett expectantly, then winced in pain again.
"Sir Harrington?" Garrett sat down opposite him, asking kindly, "Where does it hurt?"
"He has a fever, hematuria, frequent urination, and pain while urinating. It’s been going on for days," Priest Donald answered hastily.
"I used [Remove Disease] on him, and the fever subsided that day, but it started again after a few days. He said he had been treated at the Temple of the Spring Goddess for over a month with the same recurring symptoms."
Fever... hematuria... frequent urination and pain... Could it be nephritis? Garrett wondered. If it were nephritis, [Remove Disease] should cure it; kidney cancer was another story. But of course, he needed to check the body first:
"Let me examine you."
He began a thorough examination, with Priest Donald recording in the medical log beside him:
"Pulse 75 beats per minute, respiration 16 breaths per minute, blood pressure... 120/75. Hmm, these are all good. Now, lift your head, let me check your neck... Don’t write this down!"
Priest Donald cast a cleansing spell on the medical log, unfortunately erasing the previous notes, and hurriedly rewrote them.
Garrett refrained from rolling his eyes and continued the examination, despite the odd feel of the lead powder on his fingers:
"Consciousness clear, mild lymph node swelling under both jaws, firm texture, good mobility, and tenderness. Open your mouth... wider! Both tonsils slightly enlarged, congested, no purulent discharge."
Hmm, a bit of an infection; it’s hard to say if the fever is due to this. He continued the examination, clear breath sounds in both lungs, strong heart sounds, heart rate 75 beats per minute, regular rhythm. Garrett moved him to the bed, continuing the physical examination:
Abdomen flat and soft, no liver or spleen enlargement, no tenderness or rebound tenderness in the upper abdomen, no costovertebral angle tenderness, but bladder tenderness. He turned to Priest Donald:
"What do you think it is?"
"Feels like nephritis," Priest Donald said solemnly, "Frequent, urgent, and painful urination usually points to kidney issues. I saw hematuria myself; treating it cleared up, but it relapsed after a few days."
Well, since you’ve seen it, I won’t do a urinalysis. Visible hematuria means blood cells would be seen under a microscope, probably along with white cells. As for proteinuria?
Sorry, we can’t test for that right now.
"Did he say what caused the illness?"
"No!" Priest Donald shook his head confidently, his golden hair swaying dangerously close to Garrett’s face:
"He said it just started hurting out of nowhere, without any apparent reason..."
That’s lower abdominal pain, bladder pain, not stomach pain. Also, Mr. Priest, you need to improve your history-taking skills.
Garrett didn’t press further, asking the patient to stand straight, casually placing the [Endless Ink Pen] behind him. [Detect Magic] lit up, and Garrett immediately sighed inwardly:
Alright, it’s understandable he didn’t mention it; such medical histories are often concealed.
He opened the medical desk drawer, pulled out a mercury thermometer, and handed it to the patient:
"Take your temperature."
Sir Harrington instinctively shrank back. Garrett, face calm, held out the thermometer steadily:
"Come on, I need to know if you have a high or low fever or if it’s subsided."
"I’m not feverish! I—"
"Did you put something in your body?"
Both men jumped at once. Priest Donald’s hand knocked over an ink bottle with a crash; Sir Harrington recoiled, his lower back hitting the examination bed:
"You...you... I didn’t, I didn’t..."
"I saw it." Garrett’s voice was calm:
"Sir Harrington, lying to your healer is not a good idea. Without the truth, the root cause of your illness can never be treated."
The young noble opened and closed his mouth, then shut it tightly, face flushed. Before he could speak, Priest Donald had jumped up, right in front of him:
"You lied to me! You’ve been lying all along, no wonder I couldn’t cure you!"
Sir Harrington struggled to retort. Garrett added from behind:
"Donald, use [Detect Magic]."
Just one glance, and Priest Donald was stunned. His lips opened and closed like a fish out of water. After a moment, he struggled to ask:
"What did you put in there... What is that..."
He gestured awkwardly, unsure how to describe it. A not-too-long, but certainly not short, thin tube, glowing faintly at one end, stretched across the pelvic cavity, alarming at first sight.
Garrett waved the thermometer, its mercury tip reflecting a bright white light:
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