Thou shalt not strive officiously.

Most medical students encounter the dictum "Thou shalt not strive officiously to keep alive" early in their clinical years. Like other memorable directives it seems unambiguous and simple. Yet in the years ahead the student-and, later, the doctor- will not always find its meaning or application easy. "Strive" is not defined, and with advances in medical technology the potential scope for striving is almost infinite. Nor is "officiously" defined-a word with a wide range of meaning in different societies and different cultures.