Simbología en medicina y ciencias de la salud / Symbology in medicine and health sciences

La inclusión curricular de la historia de la medicina se hace cada vez más importante, y dentro de la misma el estudio de la simbología en medicina es un tema muy interesante y a veces polémico. Los símbolos asociados a la medicina usualmente presentan serpientes asociadas a los mismos, siendo los más reconocidos el bastón de Asclepio/Esculapio y el caduceo de Hermes/Mercurio. Las serpientes se encuentran asociadas a consideraciones positivas y negativas en las diferentes culturas del mundo. En el Antiguo Egipto eran símbolos de sabiduría y poder. En la Biblia tenían un rol dual y una participación en al menos un evento relacionado a curaciones masivas. La mitología griega nos provee de elementos que conectan a serpientes enrolladas en torno a una rama o vara directamente con la medicina. El tratamiento de la dracunculiasis nos otorga otra vía de conexión entre esta imagen y la medicina. El bastón de Asclepio/Esculapio se reconoce como símbolo de la medicina y las ciencias de la salud en general, mientras que el caduceo se asocia a otras profesiones no médicas.

The curricular inclusion of the history of medicine is becoming more and more important, and within it the study of symbology in medicine is a very interesting and sometimes controversial subject. The symbols associated with medicine usually present snakes associated with them, the most recognized being the rod of Asclepius/ Aesculapius and the Hermes/Mercury caduceus. Snakes are associated with positive and negative considerations in the different cultures of the world. In Ancient Egypt they were symbols of wisdom and power. In the Bible they had a dual role and a participation in at least one event related to massive healings. Greek mythology provides us with elements that connect snakes coiled around a branch or rod directly to medicine. The treatment of dracunculiasis gives us another way of connection between this image and medicine. The rod of Asclepius/ Aesculapius is recognized as a symbol of medicine and health sciences in general, while the caduceus is associated with other non-medical professions

The Birth of Hospital, Asclepius cult and Early Christianity / 의사학

History of hospital is one of main fields of researches in medical history. Besides writing a history of an individual hospital, considerable efforts have been made to trace the origin of hospital. Those who quest for the origin of hospital are faced with an inevitable problem of defining hospital. As the different definition can lead to a different outcome, it is important to make a clear definition. In this article, the hospital was defined as an institution in which patients are housed and given medical treatments. According to the definition, the Great Basilius is regarded to have created the first hospital in 369 CE. The creation of hospital is considered to be closely related with Christian philantrophy. However, the question is raised against this explanation. As the religious philantrophy does not exclusively belong to the Christianity alone, more comprehensive and persuasive theory should be proposed to explain why the first hospital was created in the Christian World, not in the Buddhistic or other religious world. Furthermore, in spite of sharing the same Christian background, why the first hospital appeared in Byzantine Empire, not in Western Roman Empire, also should be explained. My argument is that Asclepius cult and the favorable attitude toward medicine in Greek world are responsible to the appearance of the first hospital in Byzantine Empire. The evangelic work of Jesus was heavily depended on healing activities. The healing activities of Jesus and his disciples were rivalled by Asclepius cult which had been widely spread and practiced in the Hellenistic world. The temples of Asclepius served as a model for hospital, for the temples were the institution exclusively reserved for the patients. The exclusive housing of patients alone in the temples of Asclepius is clearly contrasted with the other early forms of hospitals in which not only patients but also the poor, foreigners and pilgrims were housed altogether. Toward the healing god Asclepius, the Latin Church fathers and Greek Church fathers showed significant difference of attitudes. The Latin fathers were generally very critical on Asclepius while the Greek fathers were more favorable to the same healing god. This difference is also considered to be an important factor that can explain why the first hospital appeared in the Byzantine Empire.

En defensa de la identidad médica cubana / Defending the Cuban medical identity

Sobre el origen de los emblemas que tienen que ver con la medicina mucho se escribe pero poco se conoce, es por ello que aún se aprecia el uso incorrecto del Caduceo de Mercurio en instituciones de salud, y quizás por facilismo o por ignorancia se han adoptado símbolos que no son los que caracterizan a la medicina en Cuba. El propósito que persigue este trabajo es reflexionar sobre este tema por la necesidad del uso adecuado de los símbolos que identifican a los trabajadores de la salud pública cubana. Se revisaron artículos científicos y se exploraron sitios Web, por lo que se pudo demostrar que el emblema que identifica al sistema de salud cubano dignamente es el Caduceo de Esculapio, al que se le atribuyen dotes para calmar o apaciguar. Esta imagen del bastón con la serpiente es la que ha quedado como un atributo del dios curativo y ha llegado hasta la actualidad como símbolo de la medicina

Much has been written, but little is known about the origin of the symbols that have to do with medicine. This is the reason why we still notice the inadequate use of the caduceus of Mercury in health institutions, and the adoption of symbols that are not characteristic of medicine in Cuba. This paper was aimed at clarifying some concepts and pieces of information on this topic, which will allow properly using the symbols that should identify the Cuban health care workers. Several scientific articles were reviewed and a number of websites were visited to demonstrate that the identity symbol of the Cuban health system is the Rod of Asclepius, which is considered to have properties of calming down or pacifying people. The staff with the serpent entwined around it is the image which has remained as an attribute of the healer god and as a symbol of medicine at present

O Simbolo da Medicina e o Verme da Guine / The symbol of Medicine and the Guinea worm

O verdadeiro símbolo da medicina é um bastão com uma serpente em volta em espiral. No entanto, o símbolo de Hermes, com duas serpentes e duas asas na extremidade superior, que é na verdade o símbolo do comércio, tem sido erroneamente usado nos Estados Unidos como símbolo da medicina. Recentemente muitas publicações presentes na internet têm propagado a origem do símbolo, em que há o bastão de Asclépio com uma serpente, ser baseada na figura do nematódeo Dracunculus medinensis enrolado em uma varinha, método ainda usado para a extração do verme. No entanto, não são apresentados documentos históricos nem há respaldo de eminentes autores e estudiosos sobre História da Medicina. O artigo mais antigo a respeito encontrado pelo autor, é de um médico neozelandês, sem bibliografia, que relata como provável origem do símbolo da medicina a figura do nematódeo enrolado na varinha. Os demais artigos relatam a repetição dessa ideia, constante também na Wikipedia. Diante dos estudos e documentos históricos que demonstram o bastão com uma serpente nele envolta ser símbolo da medicina, questiona-se a convalidação dessa corrente de interpretação.

The true symbol of medicine is a staff with a serpent coiled around. However, the symbol of Hermes, with two snakes and two wings at the upper end, which is actually the symbol of commerce, has been wrongly used in the United States as a symbol of medicine. Recently many publications have propagated on the internet presents the origin of the symbol, which is the baton of Asclepius with a snake, be based on the figure of the nematode Dracunculus medinensis wrapped in a wand, the method used for the extraction of the worm. However, historical documents are not presented nor is there support from leading authors and scholars on the History of Medicine. The oldest article found about the author, is a New Zealand doctor, no bibliography, which relates how likely origin of the symbol of medicine figure curled on the nematode wand. Other articles report the repetition of this idea, also contained in Wikipedia. Considering the studies and historical documents that show the staff with a serpent wrapped it be a symbol of medicine, we question the validation of this current interpretation.