Chapter 155: Reclassification of Sleeping Hollow Disease
Doctor Eleanor only allowed five questions in total before politely closing the question and answer portion and proceeded to the Chapter 5.
Chapter 5 was the Reclassification of Sleeping Hollow Disease. She identified in this Chapter the true disease mechanism.
Doctor Eleanor then showed the meridian examination findings between healthy subjects and affected patients.
The healthy subjects showed stable circulation pathways, consistent energy flow, and strong meridian junctions, whereas affected patients had progressive pathway narrowing, fractured circulation nodes, and severe deterioration near consciousness-related meridians clusters.
She demonstrated through the presentation display that victims suffer progressive meridian collapse, systemic circulation failure, and soul-anchor deterioration.
She argued that the name "Sleeping Hollow Disease" only describes the symptoms.
She said, "The Sleeping Hollow Disease does not describe the cause. Hence, I formally propose the new classification for this disease. It should be called Spirit Meridian Withering Syndrome.
I’ll explain the reason word by word.
Spirit is because of affected consciousness and soul stability. Meridian means having primary anatomical structure involved. Withering means progressive degeneration. And Syndrome means multiple interconnected symptoms. This isn’t just a disease anymore, it becomes a syndrome."
She paused for a while, allowing the attendees to be ready in pressing the button as fast as they could.
Once she said, "I’ll be entertaining questions now."
A noise of pressing the button echoed around the chamber, stunning Doctor Eleanor.
She didn’t need to choose as the faster one to press the button at the exact time was already chosen.
The first question came from a Senior Neurologist.
"If consciousness depends on meridians, how do you explain ordinary head trauma causing coma?"
Doctor Eleanor was quite startled by his question.
She replied while frowning, "I do not claim the brain is unimportant."
She then proceeded to display a diagram in the presentation display.
She compared it to a city, with the brain as the government and the meridian network as the infrastructure.
Thankfully, she was quite prepared to such question.
She said, "The brain remains the primary processing organ. However, processing and consciousness retention are separate functions.
Let’s treat brain as the government and the meridian network as the infrastructure.
When the government is destroyed, the city cannot function.
But if you destroy the infrastructure, the government cannot communicate.
In other words, both are necessary."
Several neurologist and the Senior Neurologist in the Chamber nodded in agreement.
The next questioner was a Pediatric Specialist.
She asked with an obvious worried tone, "Why are children disproportionately affected?"
Doctor Eleanor was relieved that she was also prepared for such question again.
Hence, she immediately displayed a distribution charts in the presentation display.
She said, "Children possess developing meridian structures. Their pathways remain incomplete.
Even more so, high-affinity children generate greater internal circulation demands, which results to imbalance and this imbalance creates gradual deterioration.
Adults, on the other hand, possess more mature networks. Therefore, they rarely develop the syndrome."
The Pediatric Specialists’ eyes widened. Other Pediatric Specialists were enlightened, as well. They were now interested in learning meridians, especially after Doctor Eleanor claimed that children began developing their meridian structures at their age.
The third question came from a hospital director. His question was actually what Doctor Eleanor was anticipating.
He asked, "If meridians truly exist, why have we never detected them before?"
Doctor Eleanor couldn’t help but smirk.
She said, "For the same reason physicians once failed to detect microscopic pathogens."
She then displayed in the presentation display an object with bunch of texts, seemingly explaining every of its parts.
She said, "This is what I was working on before I executed Felix’s ritual.
This is called FeMeRoS, which means Felix’s Meridian Resonance Scanner. He wasn’t the one who invented it, it was me, but his ritual, or cure, compelled me to create this. This is just a model yet, that’s why I haven’t included this in the thesis. I’m working with the National Beast Medical Council to finally produce and mass produce it.
They already treat it as their main priority now, so expect that for a week, it will finally be produced."
The attendees gasped in astonishment.
Felix, meanwhile, when he heard the ridiculous name, he believed, of the invention that Doctor Eleanor created, was embarrassed. He tried his best to keep his face straight as Krisha incessantly teased him.
He tried his best to be distracted at the Doctor Eleanor’s presentation.
The fourth question, coming from a Beast Anatomy Researcher, intrigued him.
The Beast Anatomy Researcher asked, "You claim beasts possess meridians. Why is this medically relevant?"
Doctor Eleanor acknowledged that such question could definitely be raised. Hence, she was already prepared.
She replied, "Because beasts survived millions of years solving the problem humans are only now discovering."
She then displayed in the presentation display a comparative diagram.
"This shows that medical beasts possess denser pathways, superior regeneration, and stronger circulation ability.
Understanding beast meridians allow us to understand healthy meridian architecture."
The chamber became increasingly interested that many of them pressed the button many times to be the last and fifth questionnaire.
But it was taken by a Senior Physician.
When they glanced at him, they acknowledged that he was one of the oldest attendees.
He asked with tone openly critical, "Doctor Vale, are you asking this council to abandon two centuries of established medicine?"
The chamber became tense.
They had just recognized that the moment Doctor Eleanor introduced the concept of meridians, she was already challenging the field of medicine that has been established.
As the medicine field was progressing, it appeared they had to adjust greatly, which might hindering and abandoning some medicinal theories.
However, Doctor Eleanor simply paused for a while and replied with a calm tone, "No. I am asking the council to expand it."
She gestured on her presentation display, which showed statistical data.
"Everything we know remains valuable. Surgery remains valuable. Neurology remains valuable. Beast medicine remains valuable."
She then showed the meridian scans.
"But when evidence reveals a missing piece, our responsibility is not to defend tradition. Our responsibility is to understand the patient."
The Senior Physician was surprised by her words...
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