Laurinda Dixon's essay "An Apothecary's Apotheosis: The St. Anthony Triptych" presents considerable evidence for understanding Hieronymus Bosch's St. Anthony Triptych. One piece of evidence is found on page 194. Dixon cracks the mystery of the structure in the background of the upper right-hand corner of the central panel. The structure is made of metal and shaped like an egg. A chimney on the roof's center releases steam while a woman in a white head scarf peers over the edge of her barrier. An opening is visible at the structure's base. Art historians tried to debunk the inspiration for this unconventional-looking structure. It has been compared to Eastern buildings, beacons, and lighthouses. A more likely source is a chemist's distiller.

Bosch's godfather was a practicing chemist who would have had laboratory equipment strewn about his work space. As his nephew, Bosh would have been familiar with distillers and various lab implements. Hieronymus may have chosen to depict a distiller-like building as part of a holy fire motif. Holy fire, also known as ignis sacer, was a disease whose symptoms included convulsions, muscle contortions, hallucinations, and gangrene of the the arms and legs. Holy fire was particularly severe in France and the Netherlands during the 15th century. Modern science has identified holy fire as a strain of ergotism. Ergotism is a disease caused by grain contamination. Ergot mold-infected grain, such as rye, could make afflict people across social classes and age groups.

When ergot mold is exposed to heat it becomes lysergic acid diethylamide, a compound more commonly known as LSD. The fantastical nature of Bosch's St. Anthony Triptych is better comprehended with this morsel of chemical knowledge. The half-animal, half-human figures and flying fish may be illustrations of what suffers of holy fire believed they saw as a result of their illness.

In the center panel a man and woman lean over the low wall of a cylindrical-shaped building. The woman holds a bowl in her outstretched hand. Another woman in a habit makes as if to receive the bowl. This scene could be the depiction of an infected couple visiting a St. Anthony hospital. Hospitals during the Middle Ages were an offshoot of the church. Nuns and others affiliated with the clergy would have performed hospital work as part of their mission. The nun is likely receiving the bowl so as to fill it with an elixir of some kind. On page 182 Dixon tells us that holy vintage was a "fantastic" healing potion that was offered once a year. It's reasonable to wager that the nun is about to fill the suffer's proffered vessel with this tonic.