Subject: Origin of the Symbol and the Staff in Medicine

This isn't a question. Rather, it is a clarification for your archives.  A 
young man had asked where the Medical Symbol of the Serpent and the Staff 
came from.  The person who answered gave a believable, but totally 
uncorrect response pertaining to the coaxing of a parasite from the eye 
with a stick.  The actual historical reason for the symbol is found in 
Numbers 22, where Moses is commanded by God to place a flaming serpent on a 
standard and all who looked upon it would be healed.  That symbol has 
evolved into the modern medical symbol found everywhere which shows a 
serpent entwining a staff. I hope this helps in the future.  
Yours,

Tom Donahue

Re: Origin of the Symbol and the Staff in Medicine