McCoy was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 2227. The son of David, he attended the University of Mississippi and is a divorcé. McCoy later married Natira, the priestess of Yonada, characterized in the episode, "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky". In 2266, McCoy was posted as chief medical officer of the USS "Enterprise" under Captain James T. Kirk, who often calls him "Bones". McCoy and Kirk are good friends, even "brotherly". The passionate, sometimes cantankerous McCoy frequently argues with Kirk's other confidant, science officer Spock, and occasionally is prejudiced against Spock's Vulcan heritage. McCoy often plays the role of Kirk's conscience, offering a counterpoint to Spock's logic. McCoy is suspicious of technology, especially the transporter. As a physician, he prefers less intrusive treatment and believes in the body's innate recuperative powers. The character's nickname, "Bones", is a play on "", an epithet for a physician qualified as a surgeon. In the 2009 "Star Trek" film, Star Trek reboot version, when McCoy first meets Kirk he states "The ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I got left is my bones", which also could be where his nickname came from.