Re: Medical Symbol

To the best of my knowledge no one knows for sure but some think it is
the eye worm Loa loa, a parasite that infects the body and often exits
through the eye. An ancient treatment involved coaxing the migration
of the parasite from the eye with a stick.

J. BIlladello, MD


Admin note:

Trudy Blaire adds the following:

 Caduceus, symbolic staff surmounted by two wings and entwined with two
snakes. Among the ancient Greeks the caduceus was carried by heralds and
ambassadors as a badge of office and a mark of personal inviolability,
because it was the symbol of Hermes, the messenger of the gods. According
to Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, the Greek god Apollo gave the staff to
Hermes in return for the lyre. In Roman mythology the symbol is associated
with the god Mercury. The staff of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing,
which was entwined by a single snake, was also called a caduceus. The
caduceus has been adopted as a symbol by the medical profession; it is
also the emblem of the medical branches of the United States Army and
Navy.