For most Kenyans, the last thing on their minds when they visit a hospital is looking at the hospital’s logo.
However, there are some Kenyans who are keen enough to notice that most medical institutions have the symbol of a snake coiled around a rod in their logos.
The snake symbol has been used in medicine for at least 2,400 years.
When the question about the meaning of this snake symbol in medicine was posed on TikTok, Kenyans offered an array of opinions.
One comment said, “If some church members see it now, they will stop going to hospitals.”
Another one stated, “Because the founder of health science initially used the snake venom to treat people.”
A separate comment detailed, “It’s not a snake, it is a guinea worm, and the rod in the centre represents how the worm was extracted from the skin by winding the worm around it.”
Another Kenyan coyly commented, “Only those in medicine know, it is a secret.”
The comment section in this video is a clear representation of the diverse theories surrounding the snake symbol used in medicine.
There is the theory of the Rod of Asclepius, which originates from Greek mythology.
According to this Greek mythology, Asclepius is the god of Healing. He is the son of Apollo (god of healing, truth, and prophecy) and the nymph Coronis.
The legend goes that while pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis secretly took a second, mortal lover. When Apollo found out, he sent Artemis to kill her. While Coronis burned on the funeral pyre, Apollo felt pity and rescued the unborn child from the corpse.
Asclepius was taught about medicine and healing by the wise centaur Cheiron and became so skilled in it that he succeeded in bringing one of his patients back from the dead. Zeus, king of the gods, felt that the immortality of the Gods was threatened and struck down the healer with a thunderbolt.
At Apollo’s request, Asclepius was placed among the stars as Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer.
According to Dr Paul Githaru, in the Iliad, an epic poem about the Trojan War between the early Greek kingdoms and the Anatolian city of Troy, Homer mentions Asclepius only as a skilful physician and the father of two Greek doctors, Machaon and Podalirius.
'In later times, however, Asclepius was honoured as a hero and eventually worshipped as a god. The cult began in Thessaly but spread to many parts of Greece. Since it was supposed that Asclepius effected cures of the sick in dreams, the practice of sleeping in his temples in Epidaurus in South Greece became common. In 293 B.C., the cult of Asclepius spread to Rome," Githaru says.
"Asclepius was frequently represented standing and dressed in a long cloak with bare breast; his usual attribute was a staff with a serpent coiled around it. According to this Greek mythology, this staff is the only true symbol of medicine."
According to the National Health Service, though often confused with the Rod of Asclepius, the Caduceus is also used in medicine. Unlike the Rod of Asclepius, Caduceus is a staff with two snakes intertwined and often topped by wings. The caduceus is the traditional symbol of Hermes, a Greek god.
"Ancient sources associate Hermes with a variety of attributes, including wisdom, trade, deception, thievery, eloquence, negotiation, and alchemy. Nevertheless, it is often used as a symbol of medicine, especially in the United States," NHS says.
The modern use of the caduceus as a symbol of medicine became established in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century as a result of well-documented mistakes and misunderstandings of symbols and classical culture.
Though Fielding Garrison pointed out that the caduceus had appeared on the chevrons of Army hospital stewards as early as 1856, William K. Emerson indicated the insignia was adopted earlier, in 1851.
It has been asserted that this was a result of ignorance or misinterpretation regarding the pre-existing designation of the rod of Asclepius by the Surgeon General of the United States for this purpose.
It was not until 1902 that the Caduceus was formally adopted as the insignia of both enlisted men and officers of the U.S. Medical Corps. It is thought that the Caduceus was meant to indicate the role of the corps as non-combatants rather than to represent the medical role, but no explanation for this choice was ever given.
The use of the caduceus in a medical context has long been frowned upon by many professionals, academics and others who are familiar with the historical significance of both symbols. This has occasioned impassioned remarks by those frustrated with the continuing confusion.
The other theory about the snake symbol is the biblical theory. A biblical story describes the Israelites’ sojourn in the wilderness around the land of Edom. The Israelites had become “impatient” with the long route and began blaspheming God and condemning Moses for bringing them out of Egypt to starve. They complained about the miraculously supplied bread from heaven (manna).
Angered, God sent fiery serpents which bit the Israelites. When Moses prayed to God on behalf of the Israelites, God instructed Moses to make a brass serpent. According to the instructions, the Israelites were supposed to stare at the brass serpent to receive healing.
Even after the Israelites got to the promised land, they still carried this brass serpent as a sign of God’s miraculous healing power.
According to WHO, there are some people who believe that the snake symbol used in medicine is because of the characteristics of the animal. Throughout history, the snake has been attributed several features such as renewal, youth, fertility, medicine, long life, immortality, common sense, precaution, physical power, potency, wisdom, farsightedness, prophecy, good luck and speed.
"The main reason for the association of the snake with health is that it gets renewed and rejuvenated by sloughing off its skin. This is a process that symbolises the metamorphosis among birth, life and death," WHO says.
Furthermore, as an animal that can live underground, above the ground and under water, the snake is deemed to be a creature which knows the best about the healing power of nature that is evident in natural spring waters, flowers and herbs and thus, the symbol of health and medicine is attributed to it.
The snake is also connected with pharmacology and antisepsis, as snakes possess an antivenom against their poison
Comments 0
Sign in to join the conversation
Sign In Create AccountNo comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!