Chapter Nineteenth: The Onlooker

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  Chen Yi was not only curious about Sun Simiao, but also moved by this old Taoist's humility.

  Sun Simiao asked him to point out, and said very sincerely. Chen Yi felt a bit surprised, but he could only take this as a courtesy, and didn't take it to heart. People always want to save face, especially doctors, not to mention famous doctors, these people have a lot of pride in their hearts.

  Furthermore, the diagnostic methods of ancient Chinese medicine and modern Western medicine are vastly different. Even if he had opinions or suggestions about some of Sun Simiao's methods in diagnosing diseases, it would be difficult to explain and justify them with sufficient reasons, which might lead to misunderstandings and trouble that cannot be easily clarified. Chen Yi felt that at any time, he could not correct the divine doctor Sun Simiao, even if from a certain perspective, his medical knowledge was far more extensive than Sun's. Some secrets were not meant to be revealed. Therefore, when Sun Simiao instructed him, although he repeatedly agreed, he made up his mind not to express his own opinions during Sun's diagnosis in front of the patient, unless absolutely necessary.

  Let's just be spectators today and get a good look at how ancient divine doctors diagnose illnesses!

  Many patients came to seek medical treatment, most of whom were pale and depressed. Judging from their clothes, they were mostly ordinary people, not anyone with a high social status. In ancient times, clothes were not worn randomly, not only during the Tang Dynasty, but also in other dynasties, people of different statuses had different attire, so one's rough identity could be told from their clothes, as long as they didn't deliberately hide it!

  Sun Simiao was fully engaged, his whole heart and soul focused on diagnosing the patient, while Chen Yi stared at him intently without blinking.

  Chen Yi was actually quite embarrassed. As a master's student in medicine from a prestigious medical university, he had some understanding of the "cutting" technique used in traditional Chinese medicine to diagnose diseases, but he didn't use it much in clinical practice. In modern hospitals, there were many advanced diagnostic tools that could replace traditional methods like "cutting". However, without those tools, one would have to be very skilled in the "cutting" technique to diagnose and treat patients effectively.

  Watching Sun Simiao and his disciples use their fingers to take the pulse of patients with great dexterity, judging the condition of the heart, lungs and other organs by the pulse, he could only feel envious, without even having the courage to try.

  Although Chen Yi admired the technique of pulse diagnosis, he didn't have much urge to learn it. In later generations, there were many better methods that replaced this "cutting" method. Using fingers to feel the pulse can sense some changes in the pulse image, but this mainly relies on experience-based diagnosis, which is not as direct and accurate as using a stethoscope to listen to heartbeats and breathing sounds. The most commonly used and practical diagnostic tool for doctors in later generations - the stethoscope - is an essential instrument for diagnosing diseases, especially for respiratory and cardiovascular specialists like Chen Yi. After years of diagnosing patients, Chen Yi could distinguish some extremely subtle pathological changes from the patient's breathing sounds, which was a summary of his many years of experience and something he took pride in. At this moment, he really wanted to make a stethoscope and teach Sun Simiao how to use it for diagnosis.

  An idea struck him, and Chen Yi immediately felt a surge of excitement to make a stethoscope. However, after thinking for a while, he lost his enthusiasm. Under current conditions, it's as difficult as climbing the sky to manually create a complex stethoscope, and materials are hard to obtain! Nevertheless, once the idea emerged, he couldn't completely abandon it. He immediately thought of René La?nnec, the French doctor who invented the stethoscope using easily accessible materials and applied it in clinical diagnosis. Thinking of this person and his original stethoscope, Chen Yi had an epiphany - he could emulate La?nnec and create a simple stethoscope for clinical use.

  With the idea, there was a surge in his heart, and he really wanted to talk to Sun Simiao about it. However, Sun Lao Dao was very serious about diagnosing patients and didn't notice his changing expression. Chen Yi had no choice but to forcibly suppress the excitement in his heart and watched Sun Simiao diagnose people calmly.

  Sun Simiao was very careful when diagnosing illnesses for the common people, using all four diagnostic methods of "looking, listening, asking, and feeling" to thoroughly examine each patient. This meticulous attitude towards medicine earned Chen Yi's great respect. In comparison, later generations, including himself, spent much less time examining each patient. This is an unsettling fact, but also an unavoidable one. With the large number of patients waiting to be seen every day, it was impossible to give each person such a thorough examination; otherwise, most patients would not even get a chance to see a doctor, and this was true even in specialist clinics where the number of patients was relatively small. This was another thing that made Chen Yi feel helpless.

  Many patients came to seek medical treatment under the name of Sun Simiao, and there were many people waiting in line in front of him. There were also many people in front of Wang Chong and Liu Hai. Sun Simiao's disciples were also a strong drawcard, and no one would suspect that Sun Simiao's disciples had low medical skills and were not trustworthy.

  When Sun Simiao examined patients, he would ask them in detail about the onset of their illness, the symptoms they were experiencing, and even had them open their mouths to smell their breath. He would then inquire about their medication history, write a prescription, instruct them on how to take the medicine, and advise them on what to be aware of before and after taking the medicine, as well as things to pay attention to during the recovery process.

  Chen Yi also watched with attention and admired Sun Simiao's rigorous attitude in the diagnosis and treatment process more and more.

  It's still the end of spring and the beginning of summer, with frequent changes in weather. Most patients who come to see him are suffering from respiratory problems. The treatment methods adopted by Sun Simiao are also recognized by Chen Yi, mainly focusing on symptomatic treatment. Chen Yi has also seen the prescriptions written by Sun Simiao, some of which are still quite familiar to him. In his later years, he specialized in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, spending the most time in the respiratory department and seeing the largest number of patients. Many patients, such as pregnant women, cannot use or should avoid using antibiotics, but when they fall ill, they cannot go without medication. For these patients, Chinese patent medicine or traditional Chinese medicine is often the first choice. Chen Yi has also written countless prescriptions for many patients over the years, most of which are ready-made.

  Because of this experience, he has some knowledge about which traditional Chinese medicines can be used to treat respiratory system diseases. He also knows some famous prescriptions invented by well-known doctors in history that can be used to treat many respiratory system diseases. There are also some prescriptions that he and his mentor have developed together for the diagnosis and treatment of special diseases such as asthma, which Sun Simiao may not know because they appeared after the Tang Dynasty. However, he is not a professional traditional Chinese medicine doctor after all, and in terms of adaptability to traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment, he cannot be compared with Sun Simiao, this famous divine doctor. In order to avoid "losing face" in ancient times, I must learn from Sun Simiao today!

  Just as Chen Yi was thinking wildly, a woman in her thirties sat down in front of Sun Simiao, looking like she was from a wealthy family or had a good family background. Chen Yi, who was sitting on the side, heard the woman make a special wheezing sound in her throat when describing her illness, and saw a faint purplish discoloration on her face, as well as hearing her intermittent coughs that lasted for very short periods of time.

  "This might be an asthma patient," Chen Yi thought to himself after carefully observing the woman's appearance, and he felt a kind of inexplicable excitement, almost without thinking twice, made a judgment. After taking a closer look and listening for a while, he became more and more certain about his diagnosis, this was definitely an asthma patient, and it was a severe case, possibly already developed into pulmonary heart disease stage, with very poor changes in the respiratory tract and cardiovascular system, making treatment very difficult...

  The patient's respiratory system combined with cardiovascular disease, almost asthma combined with pulmonary heart disease and emphysema patients' diagnosis and treatment is the direction that Chen Yi has been specializing in since he became a doctor. He has paid a lot of effort for this, applying for research topics in this area every year and writing a large number of papers published in domestic journals. Maybe it's because of this reason, now when he sees a typical asthma patient appear, he feels an inexplicable excitement, wanting to go forward and carefully ask about the patient's situation, check the symptoms, listen to her breathing sounds and heartbeats, examine the body's condition, judge the progression of the disease... then instruct on things to pay attention to in daily life, diet and living habits, and of course use the method he and his respected director have explored together, combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine to treat respiratory system combined with cardiovascular disease, to treat this patient.

  However, after subconsciously touching his chest and not finding the stethoscope, Chen Yi quickly came to his senses. He also forced himself to calm down and prepared to see how Sun Simiao would diagnose and treat the patient's illness. Sun Simiao first inquired about the patient and their family members' situation, when did the symptoms start, how long had they been ill, and while asking, he examined the female patient's physical condition.

  The young woman, after answering Sun Simiao's questions, continued: "Sun Da Chang, I... cough... cough... have been ill for many years, cough... cough... and have taken a lot of medicine without any effect. Today, hearing that Sun Da Chang is here to diagnose illnesses, I came over to let you take a look! Cough... I wonder if my illness can still be cured?"

  The woman coughed constantly during her testimony, making it heart-wrenching to listen, while her husband kept patting her back.

  Sun Simiao asked again: "This little girl, I want to know what time you usually get sick? What happens when you get sick?"

  "The road is long, I... cough... get sick more often at night and in the morning, sometimes I wake up with chest tightness, coughing, and a sore throat... cough... can't sleep well, sometimes I need to sit up to feel better..." The young woman described her past symptoms in a fragmented and reminiscent manner, trying hard to hold back her cough.

  The characteristics of this young woman's illness are typical symptoms of asthma, and it has already reached the late stage. It must be accompanied by significant cardiovascular disease. After listening to the young woman's complaint, Chen Yi can almost make a diagnosis with confidence.

  However, he did not express his opinion and continued to watch Sun Simiao's diagnosis.

  There were many medical experts in ancient China, and their diagnostic techniques had a legendary color. Chen Yi wanted to see the legend that was buried in the dust of history from Sun Simiao, and he also believed that this godly doctor would not make an incorrect diagnosis!