WILTIMS #14: $$$, cut first, and Lympha

Today was less than exciting. No labs, few interesting lectures, and a two-hour financial planning course. The takeaway: if we manage our $250,000+ of debt half-decently, we're gonna be poor for a good 10 years, then we will be very well-off thereafter. Woot.

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The amount of money made by physicians in the US is absolutely ridiculous, and is yet another symptom of how broken the system is. And though doctor salaries are not even close to the biggest contributor to health care costs, they should still be addressed at some point. I know some people who would never have gone into medicine without the incentive of high compensation awaiting them down the road, but I know even more who would do it regardless the pay, because, let's face it, it's an awesome job. It's supposed to be about helping others, right? </rant>

TIL: One surgery you really don't want to need to have is an exploratory laparotomy, which is essentially when the a surgeon has no idea what's going on in the abdomen, so they cut it open to have a look. This really only happens after a traumatic injury where there is extensive damage and/or bleeding with inconclusive radiological findings.

Also, the lymphatic system (e.g. lymph ducts, lymph nodes, etc) is named for Lympha, the Roman god of fresh water. This is because when early anatomists were trying to map out the circulation of the body, they noticed that the structures that would later be known as lymphatic ducts did not contain blood, but rather a clear liquid that sprung from the tissues like a mountain spring. Ironically, this is some of the dirtiest fluid in the body, where pathogens are collected and destroyed and cancer metastases often spread.