At rest on a rock in its tank
Sticking to the side of its tank
The osmotic eel was a small aquatic lifeform resembling a starfish that was useful in medicine for cleaning and healing wounds.
Doctor Phlox kept an osmotic eel on board during his assignment to Enterprise NX-01, and it could often be seen in the starship's sickbay, in a tank of water. During their first mission in April of 2151, it was used to cauterize Captain Archer's leg wound. (ENT: "Broken Bow")
In 2152, following the injury of several crewmembers, Phlox told one officer he would have to wait for the eel to cauterize his wound, noting that the creature was "getting quite a workout today". (ENT: "Minefield")
He offered to give it to E'Lis, a medical practitioner at a deuterium mining colony later that year, but she joked she wouldn't know what to feed it. Phlox then explained to E'Lis that the eel's feeding needs were relatively modest, as it only required a nutrient broth every three or four days. He further noted that while they were working, they required their nutrient broth even less, as they usually ingested a little blood while healing an injured artery. (ENT: "Marauders")
Hoshi Sato fed Phlox's osmotic eel with Vulcan root leaf in 2153. (ENT: "Exile")
The next year, Phlox was looking at the osmotic eel in its tank when Commander Tucker entered sickbay. (ENT: "The Council")
In 2154, the eel was used to help remove Xindi neural parasites that a group of Xindi-Reptilians had injected into Hoshi Sato to force her compliance. (ENT: "Countdown")
Later that year, Phlox told Hoshi Sato that his osmotic eel was ill and that he should remain on board Enterprise until the animal was feeling better. This, however, was an excuse for the fact that Phlox didn't want to visit Earth with Sato that evening. (ENT: "Home")
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