Murmur

Next morning my master did the round early. There remained the morning clinic and a long day to go. He and I were just overjoyed when Dr. Lai came slightly earlier than he usually did. Dr. Lai was the consultant of my master. Maybe not too up-to-date with the literature, he was probably the ideal consultant that you expect to find: responsible but absolutely non-intruding.

I could see Dr. Lai was in a good mood. Without wasting much time the two doctors trespassed through the cases admitted last night. At last, they stopped by the end of the bed of the woman with atrial fibrillation and a stroke. My master described the story and, to his (and my) surprise, the consultant pick out his stethoscope.

This was, in fact, the first time that I saw this creature of my kind. “Cardiologist’s model with an expensive diaphragm,” I said to myself. No, I don’t want to make friend with him.

The noble did not pay any attention to me either. He quickly found his way under the clothes of the woman. “Got to be a waste of time. Nothing is there.” I said to myself.

But he seemed staying there for ages. Then, he appeared again and dived back to where he belonged to. Dr. Lai made a smile of Mona Lisa … or actually of crocodile ?

There was a minute of silence in uneasiness. Finally the consultant said, “There is a murmur …”

“What … ?” my master almost shouted; I fainted.

“There is a mid-diastolic rumbling murmur.” Dr. Lai was positive and just went for the jargon.