Researchers ranked 81 countries on how well their health systems provide for the physical and mental well-being of patients at the end of life. Only six countries earned a grade of A while 36 countries scored Ds and Fs.

"Society should also be judged on how well people die," said study author Eric Finkelstein at Duke Global Health Institute. "Many individuals in both the developed and developing world die very badly — not at their place of choice, without dignity, or compassion, with a limited understanding about their illness, after spending down much of their savings, and often with regret about their course of treatment. These experiences are very common, yet avoidable."

To compile the rankings, researchers surveyed more than 1,200 caregivers from several countries to identify what is most important to patients at the end of life, then asked 181 palliative care experts around the world to grade their countries' health systems on 13 weighted factors that people most often listed, including proper management of pain and comfort, having a clean and safe space, being treated kindly, and treatments that address quality of life, rather than merely extending life.

The United Kingdom garnered the highest ranking in the study, followed by Ireland, Taiwan, Australia, South Korea and Costa Rica, all earning A grades. Singapore received a B, ranking 23rd among the countries surveyed, while the United States earned a C, ranking 43rd.

Body of Knowledge

It's impossible to pull or strain a muscle in your fingers because you have no muscles in your fingers. Instead, all digital movement is due to interplay between tendons, ligaments and bones, with a lot of help from muscles at the bases of your digits, in your palms and forearms.

Get Me That, Stat!

Life expectancy at birth in the United States was seven years longer for white males than for Black males in 1980. The gap has closed to four years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Over an average lifetime, most people spend one year sitting on the toilet. We wee enough in a month to fill a bath. And we fart enough in a day, on average, to fill a party balloon — though frankly, it wouldn't be much of a party.

Doc Talk

Gossypiboma: an object accidentally left inside of a patient after surgery

Mania of the Week

Timbromania: an obsession with stamp collecting

Best Medicine

Q: Why don't astronauts get sick?

A: Because they're never under the weather.

Hypochondriac's Guide

We all have mirror neurons in our brains, which is why we might cry when we see another's tears. But in mirror touch synesthesia, those neurons appear overactive, prompting more extreme responses. For example, they may feel like someone is touching them when they see someone else being touched or feel the weight of a pair of glasses on their nose just because they see someone else wearing glasses.

Observation

"Eat right. Exercise regularly. Die anyway." — Unknown, but probably dead

Medical History

This week in 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson published their conclusion about the double helix structure of the DNA molecule in the journal Nature. The paper would profoundly change the nature and future of biological science and medicine, but begins modestly enough:

"We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.). This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest."

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, and yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "Would Bohr be born if Bohm were born before Born?"

This is, apparently, a classic example of physics humor. It discusses "a hypothetical historical context in which a Bohm-like deterministic interpretation of the Schrodinger equation could have been proposed before the Born probabilistic interpretation" and argues that "in such a context the Copenhagen (Bohr) interpretation would probably have never achieved great popularity among physicists."

It sounds hilarious.

Med School

Q: Why doesn't the heart get tired?

A: A heart can "break," but even beating 100,000 times a day won't tire them out because the heart muscle isn't quite like skeletal muscles, i.e., your arms and legs. The heart is composed of cells called cardiomyocytes that are highly resistant to fatigue. They have as much as 10 times the density of mitochondria — the internal power plants of cells — that allow them to produce huge amounts of energy without cease.

Bonus Q: Why aren't all muscles made of cardiomyocytes?

A: Cardiomyocytes contract without a nerve supply, making them incapable of voluntary or purposeful movement. They can beat constantly without tiring, but that's it.

Last Words

"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP." — American actor Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

Technically not his last words, but his last tweet. LLAP is short for "Live long and prosper," a saying made famous by Nimoy's "Star Trek" character, Mr. Spock.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: DarkoStojanovic at Pixabay