Tulane University School of Medicine - T Wave Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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Its All Greek To Me The staff of Aesculapius (Latin spelling) is pictured as a wooden staff with a single serpent twining around it. Aesculepius (Creek spelling) was the Greek god of medicine, and was the son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis. According to legend Coronis was killed for being unfaithful, but Aesculapius was saved and raised by Chiron, the centaur, who taught Aescula- pius the ways of the healing arts. Aesculapius married Eipone and had several children including two daughters. Hygiea and Panaceia. and two sons. Machaon and Podaleirios. the two sons being noted by Homer in the Iliad as physicians during the Trojan War. The remedies practiced by Aesculapius varied from benign advise such as fasting to reduce fever, to more violent therapies of bleeding, abstinence, and friction . Many temples were built for Aescu- lapius, the more famous ones being Cos. Cnidus, and Epidaurus, and it was common for stricken individuals to actually sleep at the temples whereby the gods would visit them at night and their dreams would be interpreted in the morning for clues toward the cure of their ailment. One legend describes Aesculapius ' death as a result of a thunderbolt hurled by Zeus who was jealous of the healing skills possessed by Aesculapius as they threatened to make men immortal and therefore equals to the gods. The tradition of Aesculapius was brought to Rome around 293 B.C. in hopes that it would bring good luck and healing against a plague that was at that time assalting the city. The image of Aesculapius was always with a walking staff in hand, around which twined a single serpent. The snake has historically represented wisdom, learning and fertility. It ' s association with the healing arts may well come from it ' s long life, keen eyesight, and annual renewal of skin. The staff and snake symbol eventually came to stand on it ' s own to represent the pure, ethical, and non-commercial ideals of medicine. It is currently the symbol for the Royal Medical Corps of Great Britain, the American Medical Association, and the Royal Canadian Medical Corps. The caduceus consists of a long, straight staff, topped by a pair of wings, and around which two serpents are entwined. It ' s development into a symbol for medicine is somewhat more obscure. A look to Greek mythology reveals that the staff is associated with Hermes, the wing-fooled messenger of the gods (Roman: Mercury), who carried the staff as a symbol of peace. As legend goes the staff was originally given to Hermes by Apollo as a reward for allowing Apollo to invent the lyre. The staff had the power to unite all things divided by hate: when Hermes traveled to Arcadia he came upon two serpents locked in combat at which lime he placed the staff between them and observed the cessation of their fighting and a friendly entwining of both snakes around the staff. The word caduceus roughly translates to herald ' s wand in Greek. The wand was carried by heralds and town cryers. and served as both a symbol of public office and as an emblem of peaceful and neutral gatherings. It was first used as a medical symbol in the 16th century by Johann Froeben. a publisher of medical books, who used to print the caduceus on his title pages. Then a physician to Henry VIII began to use the emblem on his crest. In 1856 the caduceus was associated with the Hospital Stewards of the U.S. Army . In 1871 the U.S. Public Health Service began to use the symbol, and it was finally adopted by the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1910. One possible reason for the development of the caduceus to represent medicine over the staff of Aesculapius is thai ll is a more balanced and aesthetically pleasing symbol. — David R. Ouincy

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