The image of serpents wrapped around a staff is a familiar one in the medical field, decorating pharmaceutical packaging and hospitals as well.
However, most people are still in the dark about the genesis of the symbol.
There are two myths surrounding the symbol:
The winged version is known as a caduceus, and the stick is actually a staff that was carried by the Olympian god Hermes.
In Greek mythology, Hermes was a messenger between the gods and humans (which explains the wings) and a guide to the underworld (which explains the staff).
Hermes was also the patron of travelers, which makes his connection to medicine appropriate because, in the olden days, doctors had to travel great distances by foot in order to visit their patients.
Another, earlier depiction of the medical symbol is the staff of Asclepius, though it has no wings and only one snake.
The son of Apollo and the human princess Coronis, Asclepius is the Greek demigod of medicine.
According to mythology, he was able to restore the health of the sick and bring the dead back to life. In one telling, Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt for disrupting the natural order of the world by reviving the dead, while another version states that Zeus killed him as punishment for accepting money in exchange for conducting a resurrection.
After he died, Zeus placed Asclepius among the stars as the constellation Ophiuchus, or "the serpent bearer.
"The Greeks regarded snakes as sacred and used them in healing rituals to honor Asclepius, as snake venom was thought to be remedial and their skin-shedding was viewed as a symbol of rebirth and renewal.