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Gellion
Learned Scribe
140 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 08:43:19
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Do the people of Faerun know how their body works> Has someone cut open a Human body soley for the purpose of study? Cause I have an idea and I want to make sure of something first.
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"Paladine, you see the evil that surrounds me! You have been witness to the calamities that have been the scourge of Krynn... You must see now that this doctrine of balance will not work! I can sweep evil from this land. Destroy the ogre races. Bring the wayward humans into line! Find new homelands far away for the dwarves and the kender and the gnomes, those races not of your creation... I demand that you give me, too, the power to drive away the shadows of evil that darken the land!"- THE REIGN OF ISTAR, Tales IV |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2004 : 09:00:05
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Ed answered this awhile ago :)
"Bookwyrm, I see medical knowledge as varying widely across the Realms, but being highest among demi-humans, because tending humans has been one longterm way of being accepted in human-dominated communities. Herb lore is predominant, coupled with “potions” (herbal concoctions, not magic) effective in dealing with minor diseases, allergic reactions, and shock. The organs of all humanoid races are known, plus the general functioning of the body (hence what shock is, and how to treat it), how blood ‘works,’ and the importance of cleanliness for wounds (though most folks in the Realms have what we modern real-world types would consider bad personal hygiene and BAD teeth, though persons desiring to make a good impression who can’t get a chance to bathe properly will work scented oils into their hair and rub scented oils on their bodies to change their strong odor into something less unpleasant).
In the Realms, almost everyone understands that ill or wounded people need rest, to be covered by a blanket or at least kept out of full sun, that moving or rough handling will do greater harm, and that people should be given much to drink (even in cases where we moderns would say, “No, not even if complaining of thirst should Thrudd be given water or something stronger, because he’s hurt inside!”). Stretchers and slings are commonly used, and where a stretcher can’t be found, injured who must be carried are usually lashed to felled treetrunks and borne along between the shoulders of two strong carriers.
Scarring is common, because cauterization is well-known. Herbal painkillers (usually liquids that are “brewed” and drunk, but also liquids drizzled into wounds) are widely known and used, especially before someone is “sewn up,” and there are herbs known in the Realms but not present in the real-world, including fleshwort (yes, I know we have several plants by that folk name, but I’m postulating a new and different plant) that can be sewn into an internal wound, and slowly absorbed by the body as raw material to build new tissue, blood vessels, and cartilage, bloodstaunch (which thickens blood very quickly upon direct contact, and so can be applied to open wounds to slow or stop bleeding), and bloodpurge (works to neutralize poisons).
Splinting is common, many beings are expert at neatly sewing flesh, and yes, body piercings (especially among goblinkin) and the importance of using flame or alcohol (not together!) to prevent infections related to said piercings are commonplace. (Note that it is not currently the fashion anywhere in the Heartlands to make use of facial piercings except in the nostrils and earlobes.)
Herb lore was another of the things strictly vetoed in the early days of the Realms (along with poisons, my terms of venery article, and my “Dragon Soup” article on using monster byproducts in human Realms cookery; the first two for “we don’t want lawsuits if kids try these” reasons despite my promise to use entirely fictional herbs and poisons, the terms of venery because it was “unnecessary fluff,” and the last one for the “some of these creatures are intelligent, so your article is in very bad taste”). More recently, the gnome vocabulary and heraldry Volo’s articles suffered the same fate, but as they’re owned by WotC, I can’t put them into print without permission." |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2004 : 03:13:43
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| This was actually asked twice; first my question, about pure knowledge, and I think the other was about treatments. Regardless, the second time Mr. Greenwood had a gem: some clerics will deliberately spread disinformation to foster the need for divine healing. He didn't say it, but I'd say it's obvious that certain deities would frown on that -- but others would not. He also pointed out that many low-rung clerics, adepts, and ordinary healers attached to a church might not know they were spreading disinformation -- they would just be loyally repeating the teachings of their superiors. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
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Lina
Senior Scribe
Australia
469 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2004 : 06:49:59
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They probably had books circulating amongst some of the exclusive organisations, titled "Human Biology for Idiots".  |
“Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows! Buried in the flow of time. In thy great name. I pledge myself to darkness. All the fools who stand in our way shall be destroyed…by the power you and I possess! DRAGON SLAVE!!!”
"Thieves? Ah, such an ugly word... look upon them as the most honest sort of merchant."
-Oglar the Thieflord |
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Icewolf
Learned Scribe
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2004 : 10:15:14
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| As in, 'You're an Idiot for Reading This Book'? |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36910 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2004 : 14:17:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Lina
They probably had books circulating amongst some of the exclusive organisations, titled "Human Biology for Idiots".
Well, there was Volo's Guide to Anatomy, but it never sold very well...  |
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DDH_101
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1272 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2004 : 18:01:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Gellion
Do the people of Faerun know how their body works> Has someone cut open a Human body soley for the purpose of study? Cause I have an idea and I want to make sure of something first.
Gellion, you should find out more on the Monks of the Long Death. This order of monks from the North is obsessed with death and human-related matters and they often go around killing people to experiment on their bodies or go grave-digging. WotC has a few articles on them plus they have a section in LoD. |
"Trust in the shadows, for the bright way makes you an easy target." -Mask |
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Lina
Senior Scribe
Australia
469 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2004 : 03:19:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Lina
They probably had books circulating amongst some of the exclusive organisations, titled "Human Biology for Idiots".
Well, there was Volo's Guide to Anatomy, but it never sold very well...
Maybe he should have renamed it the "Arts of Lovemaking" Bet you that would have sold out. |
“Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows! Buried in the flow of time. In thy great name. I pledge myself to darkness. All the fools who stand in our way shall be destroyed…by the power you and I possess! DRAGON SLAVE!!!”
"Thieves? Ah, such an ugly word... look upon them as the most honest sort of merchant."
-Oglar the Thieflord |
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Knowledge of Anatomy in the realms
