Today I felt like looking at a nice medical museum, so I went to see the otorhinolaryngology department, better known, to friends, as ‘lary’ and to ‘students’ as laryngology (or ENT for Americans). Funny bastards they are, they stuff things in people’s noses and ears and down their throat. It hurts a lot and, perhaps because of this, those bastards who deal with the administration gave them the oldest equipment in the medical world one can imagine. Ok, it’s probably early 20th century, but still…
Patients wait in very long queues in a dimly lit, poorly aerated corridor. It’s full of sick people, mostly with infections, it’s crowded and its purpose it maing sure the patients won’t waste the doctors’ time by showing up healthy. The conditions in that corridor ensure an effective propagation of whatever bacteria and fungi that might be restricted to one patient only.
Are they examined with some privacy? no, of course, why do something for a patient? basically they have doorless booths, covered with tiles in the “psych ward’s collective showers” style. Curiously enough, they have gas tubes which emit a small flame – it seems to me that it creates a “welcome to Hell” appearance, or something rather steampunk.
What is the flame for? well, since people are dirty and all one cannot use the same instrument on two different patients. So they have a bunch of desinfected stuff which is sealed up. However mirrors tend to get foggy inside throats, so they should be warmed, and for this there is the open flame,
However, in order to make the patient even more infeced, after warming the mirror, they – ostensibly for the patient’s benefit, put it on their arm to check the temperature, thereby ensuring that the sterilization was for nothing and all the nice bacteria will travel from the skin to inside the patient.
The equipent, of course, is older than ever: metal (i.e. hard and cold) instead of plastic (softer and at a better temperature). Their headlamps come from wires from the ceiling and are attached to their heads via a leather belt, it’s all rather surreal, but because of the instruments of torture they have and use, I’ll give them my full marks,,,
Bastard Doctor from Hell 