You have probably been seeing medical symbols all your life, but
never really paid much attention. For example, most people are
probably familiar with the caduceus. This is the symbol of the two
serpents entwined around a rod which has wings. This is a medical
symbol of the medical profession. If you were ina foreign country and
couldn’t speak the language, but saw this medical symbol, you would
know that symbolized a doctor was nearby.
But doctors
are the only one with their own medical symbol. Pharmacists have the
mortar and pestle they use as a medical symbol. The mortar is a bowl
and the pestle is a heavy stick that is used to grind. This has been
associated with pharmacists for year as they often had to crush up
several ingredients in the mortar to prepare a prescription.
You
may also have noticed the six-pointed blue star with a rod in the
middle. This is called the Star of Life and is the medical symbol for
emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. It was originally designed
by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The rod in the middle is actually the rod of Asclepius, the Greek
demigod of medicine and healing. Each of the six branches on the star
signifies a task of emergency workers: the first branch signifies the
first rescuers on the scene, the second branch signifies dispatch being
connected to the victims, the third branch signifies the first rescuers
providing first aid, the fourth branch signifies the arrival of EMS
personnel, the fifth branch signifies the transportation of the patient
by EMS personnel, and the sixth branch signifies the specialized care
provided by those at the hospital.
The nursing profession does not
seem to have one standard medical symbol, although sometimes a lamp is
used (to connote wisdom and enlightenment). Sometimes the symbol of a
traditional nursing cap is used, but nurses rarely wear those caps
today and that is associated with a female nursing uniform.