Surgery

There are a few different surgical traditions in Vosca. The big three are the Ruvian School, the Dacian School, and the Kamen School.
==Ruvian School==
Ruvian School surgery is very old, and based off of what we would think of as the Hippocratic oath, a general mentality of doing no harm and maximizing patient benefit. Ruvian Surgeons probably have the highest rate of survival overall, as their techniques for sanitation, periodic (but not too often!) changing of dressings, and not overreaching the limits of surgical ability are well refined. They know enough about medicine and infection to know to use silver staples for sutures and needles, and to practice basic anti-vector infection theory.
==Dacian School==
The Dacian school of medicine is considered the bleeding edge of Voscan surgical science, in multiple ways. Run out of District 731 in Taphonomy Bay, the Dacian School of Medicine is a place where there is no oath required to receive teaching in medicine, except one of absolute loyalty to the state, and one special oath that will be addressed later. Teaching occurs entirely behind closed doors, and human experimentation is not at all uncommon. The dissection of human bodies is not considered a filthy thing in the Dacian school, and certain crimes are punishable by "donation" to the school for vivisection by graduating students.
The sheer callousness and indifference to human suffering in the Dacian School has resulted in frightening advances in surgical technique, but Dacian Surgeons also have a reputation for indifference towards the survival of their patients, and a lack of bedside manner. Such was this reputation that a second oath was added to the Dacian Surgeon's list: If at any time a patient asks a Dacian Surgeon to kill him, he is obligated to oblige. They even have a special knife used specifically for this purpose, with a forward-curving blade kept razor sharp for severing the subclavical.
Despite their dark reputation and callous attitude, Dacian medicine has a VERY complete understanding of human anatomy and the treatment of wounds.
Dacians specialize in large-scale treatment of battlefield wounds. It isn't pleasant, but a Dacian surgeon has the highest chance of actually restoring functionality to (or successfully amputating instead of leaving crippled and agonizing forever) a severely injured limb, and they're also the best at dealing with internal injuries and projectiles stuck deep in the flesh.
The problem with them is precisely that they do risk-assessment. You can never count on a Dacian surgery to go 110% to save your life. If it looks like you're going to die, he's more likely to try and learn about your condition as you die than he is to try and prevent your death.
They can render subjects unconscious thanks to Gezo, the a powerful narcotic derived from tar harvested in Tujanca, which is essentially morphine, but generally they have a "suck it up faggot" approach to dental surgery.
==Kamen School==
The Kamen School draws primarily from the ancient traditions of the northern lands, in combination with findings from the other two groups. Reichland Surgeons have gathered some of the philosophy and professionalism of the Ruvian Surgeons, and simply by osmosis have adopted some of the techniques of Dacians, but they lack the squeamishness of the former, and the cruelty of the latter. More than any other tradition, Kamen Surgeons rely on assistants and good working conditions to perform at their best.
Category:Science & Culture