Caduceus v/s Rod of Asclepius: What’s the Right Symbol of Medicine?

Caduceus and Rod of Asclepius have been into existence for a long time now, both having their own individual meaning and significance. So why it becomes important to address the similarities and differences between these two?  This is because many times people, as well as health organizations, have a debate over which one among them is the right medical logo? In a survey done in USA in 1990, it was found that 62% of professional associations used the Rod of Aesculapius as a symbol of medicine, while 37% used  Caduceus for the same purpose. But what’s more interesting is that the same survey also found that 76% of the commercial organization using Caduceus as their medical logo. So it becomes important as well as interesting to understand which symbol should be truly taken as the symbol of medicine, and why this confusion started in first place.

Caduceus

In this symbol, one can spot two snakes entwined around a winged staff, and facing each other. The staff-snakes symbol has its roots in both Greek and Roman mythology. First, the Greek one. Caduceus is the traditional symbol of Hermes, the god of trade, eloquence, negotiation, alchemy, wisdom, thievery, and lying in Greek mythology.

Coming to the Roman one, Caduceus is considered as the symbol of Mercury, the Roman god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication, as well as trickery and thievery. So Mercury and Hermes can be taken as equals, and are used interchangeably many times.

Who Uses Caduceus?

Caduceus as a medical logo was first adopted by US Army Medical Corps in 1902 as its insignia. Following their example, US Army Medical Corps, the Public Health Service, and the US Marine Hospital also adopted the same for the same purpose. After this, the symbol was taken up as the official medical symbol by many public and private organizations. But this decision to adopt Caduceus as a symbol medicine didn’t go unabashed. American medical ethicist Daniel P. Sulmasy, in his book “A Balm for Gilead: Meditations On Spirituality and the Healing Arts”, writes “It is hard to trust a profession that cannot even get its symbols straight. ……”

Rod of Asclepius

This symbol is similar to the above one, minus the wings and one snake. Rod of Asclepius, or  Staff of Asclepius, belongs to the Greek god Asclepius, the revered god of healing in Greek mythology. What’s also notable is that Asclepius’s daughters, Hygieia, the goddess of hygiene and cleanliness, and Panacea, the goddesses of remedies, can also be related to medicine and health going by their Greek designations. Even the Hippocratic oath, which doctors take at the time of their passing out ceremony, is dedicated to the 4 Greek gods, Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea. So considering such connections that Asclepius has with medicine, it only makes more sense to use Rod of Asclepius as the medical logo or sign.

Rod of Asclepius was long been in use as a symbol of medicine, until, as Daniel P. Sulmasy puts it, “......someone in the U.S. Army Medical Corps mistook the caduceus for the Aesculapion…..”

The director of communication of the Minnesota Medical Association, while speaking in context to Cadaques, is quoted as saying  If it's got wings on it, it's not really the symbol of medicine [....]”. Medical associations in North America are even calling for the adoption of Rod of Asclepius as the one and only symbol of medicine.

Conclusion

Luke Van Orden, author of “ Where Have All the Healers Gone?: A Doctor's Recovery Journey”. notes following for Cacdaecus in his book “ [..]Somebody obviously got the wrong symbol for modern medicine–or did they [..]” Experts are of the opinion that rod of Asclepius should be the only symbol of medicine, instead of Caduceus. Because if done otherwise, the profession of medicine is projected in a bad light, given that both Hermes and Mercury were patrons of thieves, lies, and commerce. But then, as  Luke Van Orden notes in the very book mentioned above “[...]These have become symbolic of how medicine evolved in the late Twentieth Century[...]”.

More info: Vervelogic