Medical Logos.... Their Meanings

by Dr M. Tauseef Omer
King Edward Medical University

Dear Reader, you must have seen logos similar to the above one along the names of hospitals or medical schools. Logos at your doctor’s clinic may be, where a Snake coils up around a rod . Such logos are full of meanings. There are many Mythical stories behind how and what gave rise to such a symbolization of Medical worlds.

The stories seem very real ,wherever you get to read one. Ancient days , Ancient Healers, Spiritual influences on both the healers and the sufferers they healed …these logos ,in fact, symbolize those ancient times.

SNAKE's venom was used in medicinal practice to cure diseases . Many a times its diluted form given for oral intake, many a times applied to wounds. It must have worked in those old times,of course with certain species of snakes’ venom. Snake also symbolized the 'precious extracts from herbs' - such that , it was as hard to get those extracts like finding the right snake and getting its venom ,saving from its fangs !
That Snake is called the SERPENT in medical logos.

The ROD around which snakes are rising and coiling up, represents the ROD that ancient healers held with them. You must have seen in photos/movies that ancient days are symbolized such that the well reputed personalities always held a ROD with them, back then that heavy wooden ROD was considered authority/knowledge /and symbolized a person with Sacred  Powers.

& the WINGS which are in some medical logos symbolize that we are always flying higher , and higher, soaring to new heights of healing powers and knowledge, with our medicine(the serpent) and the ROD(sacred authority).