Aliens performing successful medical procedure on humans at first contact?
So, humans have finally figured out how to build a solar-system crossing ship. On the way to the first exo-planet to be colonized, an accident happens, and a few people wind up floating through space, injured.
Aliens find the person(s) individually let's call each person X. X is still alive, and there are no problems relating to nutrition via another bit I don't have time to explain.
Would the aliens be able to fix X's injuries? What if X was a child? Or a woman on her period?
- for the purposes of this question my aliens are humanoid and carbon-based.
- X is familiar with the procedure for first contact, and can successfully initiate it.
- The aliens want to help X.
- there are no human remains accessible.
- aliens are humanoid only in that they are bipedal, have two genders, have four limbs, and hair on their heads. They do not however have hair anywhere else, would this lead to confusion?
- the people are basically loose in spacesuits.
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3 answers
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If there are a few injured humans and we presume their injuries are different (they could be related, like everyone has a broken bone but in a different place) then the humans can help the aliens help them.
One human has a slow bleed so the humans that can will mime, point, maybe even search the aliens' medical bay. Perhaps they can draw a picture (don't all astronauts carry paper and a pencil? I'm serious, I think that's standard in case com systems don't work while on spacewalks). The humans don't understand the alien medical system or supplies but together with the aliens, they can figure out what they need to stop the bleeding.
Next they can help the human with a broken leg. They can draw pictures of bones and indicate that the aliens have to help reset it so it's aligned properly again. Then work with the aliens to get a cast made.
If someone needs surgery or medication to survive, they're probably out of luck. Though it might be possible if it is further down the road and the other humans are in better shape and can help. That will be very difficult though.
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DNA
DNA may be a key. If they are DNA based and have sufficiently advanced technology, they may be able to use a single cell from a human to decipher their entire DNA structure and meaning, including how everything is supposed to work. But that may be a bit much, so they can instead use...
Surgery for Dummies
Language shouldn't be a problem as long as the universal translator is online. So X just needs to tell the aliens how to access Surgery for Dummies stored in the capsule computer. Actually, a quick search found an almost modern day equivalent in this PDF from the World Health Organization. The key is starting with humanoid, carbon-based life forms. Unlike something radically different, other humanoids will be able to adapt to the necessary techniques and, being carbon-based, some of the key things, like clean water, typical temperature range, etc. will be compatible.
Replacements?
The one problem I see is if replacement biological items are needed. Titanium parts for joint repair? They can fabricate those easily enough. Blood? Not so much. In fact, blood is likely to be the biggest problem because if you need it, you usually need it NOW, so waiting a few days for the scientists to figure out a compatible hemoglobin-based solution won't work. But stitches for minor injuries, setting broken bones, even removing an appendix - the aliens can do it.
Just remember to bring your Galactic Insurance Card...
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It only depends on alien intelligence and technology for scanning and examining the bodies.
The human body (like any other animal's body) is a self-sustaining machine, the parts have functions, and we have discovered their functions by dissection, chemical analysis, and common sense.
A sufficiently advanced scanning and computational AI can, by logic, understand how this foreign machine works, what is important, how it's healing and nutrition systems work, how respiration and heartbeat work, what has been broken and how to repair it. Especially so because the person is alive and all those systems are functioning. If it is a quantum AI, it should be able to do this accurately in a few seconds.
Just like a normal human could figure out how a tricycle works just by examining it, or with some chemical and electrical knowledge examining a running car, eventually understand all the parts and functions using technology that allows them to film any part in action and slow it down.
In the same way, the AI won't need any more than the one example, and the medicine it prescribes and procedures it performs will be personalized to the chemistry, DNA, immune system and precise nature of that one human, because it understands 100% of that particular human and will devise all this on the fly, avoiding any allergies or sensitivities. Heck, if the patient was suffering from some prior illness, they might wake up cured from it, in the bargain.
That's one limit. At the other limit, the aliens have no idea what to do and would try to treat the human as they'd treat themselves, like most humans would not know how to help an injured dolphin, elephant or gorilla, and might be afraid to even try.
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