Those in the medical profession are probably familiar with the caduceus. This ancient Greek image of the winged sword or rod surrounded by two entwined snakes has been used as a symbol of medicine and medical professionals for years, especially in the United States. Traditionally, however, the caduceus was used to represent the Greek god Hermes and commerce, rather than medicine.
The caduceus became associated with medicine in the U.S. around the 1850s when the U.S. military adopted it. It appeared on the chevrons of some Army hospital stewards. However, it's possible this was done by mistake ? the rod of Asclepius, which was often used as a symbol of medicine, is very similar to the caduceus (it only has one snake, however), and it's possible that the person who designed the logo for the hospital made a mistake in using the caduceus. Even though the rod of Asclepius had been selected by the U.S. Surgeon General for use as an identifying mark of medical personnel, the caduceus become more widespread, and in 1871, it was designated as the symbol of the Marine Hospital Service. Later, it because the logo of almost all medical departments, hospitals, and doctors in the U.S.
For bikers who are in the medical profession, there are a number of patches that feature both the caduceus and the rod of Asclepius. For example, there's a really cool sword snakes medic patch done in black and green and which has Hook and loop backing. This patch is a little different from other patches because it can be attached to your clothing with Hook and loop. You don't have to sew or iron it on, so you can easily move it to other items.
