Comparative Alien Physiology is a reference book written by Doctor Leonard McCoy. (VOY episode: "Message in a Bottle")
History[]
In 2268, he told his daughter Joanna McCoy that he'd begun making notes for a reference work on the subject. (TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows)
In 2273, McCoy accepted a challenge from Doctor Reiko Onami aboard the refit USS Enterprise that he would become such an expert on the subject that he'd be able to write a definitive text on the field. He felt such research was needed for him to become useful with the addition of a richly diverse crew. (TOS novel: Ex Machina)
James T. Kirk suggested that McCoy could continue his research during a voyage to the Aquarius Formation. In 2276, McCoy began writing the reference, but he was still working on it in 2293. (TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows)
In 2312, he finished an intensive edit of the manuscript. (TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose)
Legacy[]
In 2364, when McCoy introduced himself to Beverly Crusher aboard the USS Enterprise-D, she knew that he wrote the reference, and she kept a copy of it handy. He lamented that it'd could never be kept current since new alien species were always being encountered. (TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows)
In 2374, the reference was regarded as a classic along with Gray's Anatomy. Tom Paris and Harry Kim included its text along with the medical library database while constructing a substitute for the ship's EMH. (VOY episode: "Message in a Bottle")
In 2376, Mor glasch Tev mentioned it while talking with Carol Abramowitz and Fabian Stevens about a semi-aquatic mammalian species they encountered called the Dancidii. He compared their evolutionary origins to that of otters, which shared a similar trait of having nostrils and eyes aligned to form a low profile while the rest of their bodies were submerged. (SCE eBook: Orphans)
Appendices[]
References[]
- VOY episode: "Message in a Bottle"
- TOS novel: Ex Machina
- TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows
- TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose
- SCE eBook: Orphans
- ST reference: USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual
External link[]
- Comparative Alien Physiology article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.