Who is the chief medical officer on the USS Enterprise in the original series?

Who is the chief medical officer on the USS Enterprise in the original series? Dr. Leonard McCoy holds that post. Played by DeForest Kelley, McCoy serves as the Enterprise’s physician under Captain James T. Kirk.

McCoy joins the original Star Trek’s central trio with Kirk and the Vulcan science officer Spock. Kirk relies on his judgment, while McCoy’s emotional, humane approach often counters Spock’s strict logic. Kirk commonly calls him “Bones,” a nickname derived from the old expression “sawbones,” meaning a surgeon or doctor.

McCoy was posted as chief medical officer in 2266, during the era depicted by the original series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. He is not to be confused with later Enterprise doctors such as Dr. Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation or Dr. Phlox in Star Trek: Enterprise. Kelley continued playing McCoy in the animated series and several Star Trek films, and he briefly appeared as the elderly Admiral McCoy in The Next Generation’s pilot episode.