When had humanity first become aware of the existence of hormones?
I wasn't entirely sure, but it must have been around the late 19th or early 20th century.
In other words, right now, they knew absolutely nothing about them.
And in this situation, I was supposed to say, "This is the thyroid gland, and it produces thyroid hormones… which are absolutely vital for survival, so you must never damage it"? Yeah, right.
I see it… the cross…
In the 21st century, the cross would make people think of churches first.
But in reality, wasn't it just a torture device?
If you stood up the wooden frame used for flogging, it became a cross.
And these people—instead of just flogging—what did they do? They nailed someone to it.
And that was it?
No, of course not.
Otherwise, we barbarians would feel cheated and start crying.
So they… set it on fire.
"Now… come and look here. This pinkish structure—I don't know what it is, but… do you really think our Lord would have created something useless when He designed our bodies?"
"Amen."
"Exactly."
"That must be it."
Fortunately, this era had gone through the Renaissance and humanism, entering what could be called… the age of unification between religion and science?
Honestly, my knowledge in this area was lacking, so I wasn't entirely sure. But in any case, framing it in terms of faith made more people receptive than expected.
"Then, let us praise the Lord three times and proceed carefully to dissect this without damaging it."
"Amen."
"Praise the Lord."
Of course, among the doctors—particularly those who firmly believed themselves to be scientists—I'd heard there were quite a few who were secretly atheists deep down…
I can tell just by looking at their expressions.
Our esteemed superiors—those noble lords and royals sitting up there—kept muttering "Amen" even though they weren't the ones performing the dissection.
Well, to be fair…
Charles Darwin hadn't even proposed his theory of evolution yet, so creationism was, for all intents and purposes, the absolute truth.
Besides, whenever I studied anatomy, even I sometimes wondered—even if not necessarily about God—whether there was some kind of designer behind the human body, given how intricately it was structured.
So for those witnessing this for the first time, it was only natural they'd feel the same way.
"Alright—wait, no. I told you to cut carefully, and you just split it clean in half?"
Anyway, I continued moving around in that atmosphere.
As usual, I made it look easy, but the others couldn't do the same.
The truth was, even I couldn't perform surgery cleanly without following the proper principles.
And those principles had been established through countless trials and errors.
These men were experienced surgeons in their own right, but unfortunately, they hadn't yet had enough proper surgical experience to have gone through those trials and errors.
In an era without anesthesia, surgery was essentially a race against time—before the patient died from shock due to unbearable pain.
"You saw what I did earlier, right? Lift it with the forceps like this, then make a small incision. That creates a gap inside, right? You can slide this in, lift it up, and then make the cut. How about that?"
"Ah…"
How could they avoid damaging the internal structures?
Simple—just make sure the blade doesn't touch them.
It was such a basic concept, yet… in this unfamiliar era, there was no helping it.
Besides, to even talk about internal structures, you first had to know what was inside and how it was arranged, right?
Even though anatomical knowledge was exploding thanks to practices like grave robbing for cadavers…
There were still vast uncharted territories.
"Alright… Well, there's a bit of a nick here, but let's move on. Just remember, you shouldn't do this on a live patient."
I moved around a few more areas, adding explanations as I went.
The more I did, the more favorable the reactions from above became.
It was inevitable.
I was making it look effortless, while everyone else was a complete mess.
And these were supposedly some of the most renowned surgeons in London.
"My word… Your skill is truly remarkable."
"And what you say makes perfect sense."
"Most importantly, you're not a heathen."
"A heathen? If anything, he seems more devout than most."
On top of that, thanks to my earlier deliberate remarks, they were all looking at me with admiration.
Well, not all of them.
There were still some who seemed uncomfortable with my yellow skin…
But the mind could pretend, while the body remained honest.
Just wait until you're in pain.
Then you'll come looking for me.
"Now, let's pull the thyroid upward. No, no! Not with the scalpel—didn't I just say not to damage it? Make a tool like this. The blacksmith up front can craft it for you. Watch closely."
Despite my thoughts, I continued with the surgical demonstration.
This part wasn't particularly difficult, so I didn't move around much.
After all…
The highlight was next.
"Now, what do you see?"
"Is this… bone?"
"No, the bumpy texture doesn't look like bone."
What we were looking at now was the trachea.
The trachea—the passage through which air traveled from the nose or mouth to the lungs.
Due to its function, this structure had a very unique shape.
To understand why, you needed at least a basic grasp of respiratory mechanics.
Ah, I want to show off.
I really want to show off!
An unconscious desire for recognition crept up, dark and insidious, but I held back.
This knowledge didn't fit the era.
Would they even imagine that breathing worked through the diaphragm—a muscle that moved downward, creating negative pressure that inflated the lungs like balloons, drawing in outside air?
Of course, the idea that the lungs expanded on their own sounded far more plausible.
But in reality, it was the negative pressure that did the work, which meant the trachea had to be rigid—otherwise, it would collapse.
"I don't know the reason, but…"
Pretending not to know something I did—it wasn't easy.
If I didn't have another excuse, I might've died from frustration.
"The Lord designed the trachea with alternating rings of cartilage and muscle."
"Ah, so this is cartilage?"
"Rings? It looks straight to me."
"If you turn it—wait, no. Don't twist the knife. What, are you so desperate to swing a blade around? If you're that eager, go duel Dr. Liston over there."
These madmen were explaining while sliding a knife into the side of the trachea.
Naturally, a blood vessel leading to the thyroid was nicked, and blood began oozing out.
Sigh.
A sigh escaped me, but…
I thought of Princess Victoria watching from above and held back.
Instead, I forced myself to see this as an opportunity and approached the culprit.
"Eek!"
Already, Dr. Liston was looming over him with a terrifying expression, so the man was trembling in fear.
"You think this is how you handle someone's neck?"
"No, sir."
"Right. Let's do better, yeah?"
"Yes."
While this exchange was happening, I stepped closer and shoved him aside.
Not just a light push—I drove my elbow into his ribs, sending him stumbling away.
"Oof!"
At the same time, I plunged my gloved hand into the pool of blood inside the neck.
Fortunately—if you could call it that—this was a cadaver, so the bleeding wasn't as severe.
Once a person died, the heart stopped pumping, so blood no longer circulated.
You'd think it would just clot entirely, but in reality, pooled blood often seeped out like this.
Which meant…
Even if a major artery or vein was cut, I could still manage…
Surgeons specializing in neck procedures might get mad at me for saying this, but…
Honestly, while the neck's anatomy was complex and dangerous if injured…
It wasn't as spacious as the abdomen, right?
If severe bleeding occurred in the abdominal cavity, locating the damaged vessel was a nightmare.
Compared to that, the neck was… manageable.
Plus, in this situation, I could guess which vessel this guy had nicked.
"There we go, found it."
First, I scooped out the pooled blood, then clamped the leaking vessel with forceps.
Click.
Admittedly…
The clamps I was used to—like vessel clamps or mosquito forceps—fit much more snugly, but these would do for now.
Though, admittedly, I wouldn't feel as confident using them on a living patient…
But this was a cadaver, and the blood was already clotting, so the bleeding stopped almost instantly.
"Whew."
"Oh… Already?"
"Well, I've memorized neck anatomy."
To be honest, that was a lie.
I wasn't an ENT specialist—how could I have a perfect 3D map of cervical anatomy in my head?
If this were the 21st century, I wouldn't have exaggerated so much…
But the 19th century was the age of self-promotion, wasn't it?
Surgeries were performed in public squares, dissections in theaters…
With no fixed prices or booking systems, the only way to make a living as a doctor was to be famous.
"Well done."
"Thank you."
Liston patted my shoulder approvingly, pleased with how well I'd absorbed his teachings.
After this brief moment of recognition, I returned to my position and picked up the scalpel again.
I hadn't even bothered to prepare water for rinsing, since there was likely more blood ahead. My gloves were already stained red.
"The bile duct is huge…"
"He's not just good at dissection—he could be a skilled surgeon too."
"This is incredible…"
Once people started viewing you favorably, everything else seemed impressive too. Whispers of praise filled the room.
"Now… this white part is cartilage, and the tissue between is muscle. Try cutting through it."
"Yes—huh?"
"Wha—?"
"What the—?"
Anyone cutting into this for the first time would be startled.
Why?
Because it was the trachea.
It was hollow inside.
It must've felt like cutting into empty air.
"This is the trachea. Right now, it's not breathing, but… normally, it would be, right? When it opens like this, there's a high chance of phlegm or other fluids spraying out."
Not just high—it was practically guaranteed.
Hell, phlegm was the best-case scenario. Sometimes blood came gushing out too.
But…
You wouldn't know that unless you'd experienced it firsthand.
It wasn't even in the textbooks.
I only knew because a friend had told me.
"Anyway, once it's open like this… Remember that device I told you to buy when you signed up for the practical session?"
"Ah, yes."
"Right, right."
If they didn't remember, they were idiots.
Why?
Because Liston and I had strong-armed them into buying it.
Normally, we wouldn't have bothered, but since these were made of metal, the unit cost was too high to ignore.
"Insert that. From now on, the patient will breathe through this opening."
"My God."
As I spoke, I glanced around, then looked forward.
Honestly… it wasn't even a major procedure, yet everyone looked utterly astonished.
Well… it is a paradigm-shifting surgery.
It seemed Liston and I would become famous much faster than we'd anticipated.