The Continuity GuideMedical Facilities
by Martin Willey
The Continuity Guide
The Medical Section on Moonbase Alpha has to cope with a variety of medical ailments, from the routine (broken bones in Guardian Of Piri, The Beta Cloud) to the serious (heart replacement in Catacombs Of The Moon) to treating aliens (End Of Eternity, Space Warp, Dorzak)
A variety of medical monitors are used in the series (see more).
Gurneys were often seen (Matter Of Life And Death without a mattress, End Of Eternity, Collision Course, War Games, The Infernal Machine as a trolley, The Troubled Spirit, Mission Of The Darians, The Exiles, Catacombs Of The Moon, The Beta Cloud, The Lambda Factor, The Seance Spectre, The Immunity Syndrome).
Barmycin range |
"Fungoids are the basis of the barmycin range of drugs discovered just before we left Earth. It's the only known cure for viral pneumonia." Cave fungus is used in Journey To Where. |
Dexetrol |
Potent sedative put in Helena's coffee in One Moment Of Humanity. |
Ionethermycein |
Sedative in The Beta Cloud. "It's the most powerful stuff we have, it's too powerful for humans." Administered by high pressure injector gun, also seen in The Lambda Factor. |
Metrazine |
Potent drug used to revive Lee Russell in Matter Of Life And Death. |
Mezadrine |
"That will bring out the most violent, aggressive responses." in The Troubled Spirit |
Somnol |
Sedative used in The Mark Of Archanon. |
Tyomoxin |
Tablets used to combat fever and lassitude in The Beta Cloud. |
White noise |
Sonic anaesthetic sometimes used instead of drugs, seen in The Bringers Of Wonder part 2. "It works by blocking nerve paths in the synapses of the brain." (Actually white noise is not an anaesthetic). |
Electroconvulsive therapy/defibrilation |
Used on Koenig in Missing Link, on Helena in Guardian Of Piri, on Queller in Voyager's Return, on Cantar in The Exiles ("start the defibrilator"), and on Tony in All That Glisters. The straight line and steady beep of the ECG (as seen on Lee Russell and Koenig in Missing Link) indicates the heart is asystolic, with no contractions. This is not "shockable"- defibrilation will not bring anyone in asystole back to life, but cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) might. 
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Narcosynthesis |
Old fashioned, but still the safest and best method to allow "the mind to jump all the barriers it has built up within itself." Seen in The Lambda Factor. (Actually a technique of narcotherapy using narcotic drugs widely practised after World War 2 to treat war neuroses). | |
Neuronic Concussion |
Procedure to sedate patient, similar to that used by stun guns. Seen in Space Brain. | 
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Thermographic Scans |
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Symbiosis |
Electronically assisted telepathy, used in advanced psychoanalysis. Seen in Space Brain. | |
| Isolation tent | Note the use of the plastic tent in The Exiles to isolate the patient. | 
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Copyright Martin Willey