Medical advice that will have you in stitches

Doctor Panda is the alter-ego of Miao Zhongrong, who works at Tiantan hospital in Beijing. Miao often comes up with the topic, storyline and script while lying on bed before 6 in the morning. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The cartoons are the idea of two doctors, Miao Zhongrong and He Yizhou: The two main characters are their alter egos. Miao, alias Dr Panda, is an expert in cerebrovascular diseases at Tiantan Hospital in Beijing, and He Yizhou, alias Sha Daidai, is an ICU specialist at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai, which is linked with the city's Fudan University.

Miao, who writes the scripts, says he often does so while lying in bed before 6 am.

He then writes down other ideas and sends everything to He in Shanghai.

He, who by that time will be on his way to the hospital with an extremely busy day ahead of him, will then think about the details of characters' expressions and movements to accompany the scripts.

After returning home, usually late at night, he draws the cartoons, which usually takes two hours, he says.

Although the stories in the cartoons are fictional, most are based on the authors' experiences, Miao says.

The authors' doctor friends and patients inspire them. Such is the case with a pharmacist in the cartoon called Niu, Miao say.

"Acquiring medical knowledge is good for everyone," Miao says. "This kind of knowledge can save lives, and we are happy with what we are doing."