THE EMBLEM OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
George M. Fister, M.D., Ogden, Utah and Thomas A. Hendricks, ChicagoThe gods of mythology, Mercury, Aesculapius, Zeus, Pluto, and others probably will shudder in their retreats to find another human writing about the caduceus. Many humans probably will be equally amazed at this attempt to clarify a confusion that has developed out of the simplicity of the gods' intentions.The gods' intentions were probably very clear, but between the ancient Greeks, the slightly less ancient Romans, and modern physicians there has developed ambiguity and uncertainty about the emblem of medicine.By definition the word caduceus is a Latin adaptation from the Greek, a herald's wand (kerykeion), so the only meaning that the word caduceus has is a herald's wand. It has no connection with and carries no implication as a symbol of medicine. The herald who carried the wand (the caduceus) was