What does the medical symbol mean?

Question

What do the snakes, staff, and wings represent of the medical symbol?

Answer 1

http://home.hvc.rr.com/ocems/staroflife....

That will give you the history on the Star of Life.

Answer 2

emergency medical care !

Answer 3

The medical symbol you describe is called a caduceus.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_7615...

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionar...

http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forc...

A caduceus is not the Star of Life, commonly used for emergency medical services in the U.S., though it is a part of that symbol.

There is a story in the Bible in which God tells Moses to lift up a serpent in front of his people for their healing.  http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Numbe...

I always thought it came from this story, but I see it could be from Greek mythology, too.

Answer 4

It's a caduceus, from the Greek mythology.  It's suppose to represent Hermes' speed while the ambulance is going to the site it's needed at and it's suppose to represent quick healing.