These vinyl decals can be used on car windows, tumblers, glass, mugs, laptops, and many more. Great vet, vet tech, student and animal lover gift! High quality veterinarian vinyl decal/sticker. Perfect for animal science student and vet office laptops, computers, desks, basically any smooth surface! The caduceus logo is art that symbolizes the attention and care given to animals.
Vinyl decals are easy to apply, see these Application Instructions.
Caduceus: That Serpent is a Worm!
The Caduceus is the symbol for the profession of medicine. But did you realize that serpent is actually a Guinea worm?
On first glance it appears to be a serpent wrapped around a stick. However, that serpent is actually a parasite known as the Guinea worm.
Guinea worm disease or dracunculiasis is initially acquired by ingestion. Initially there are no symptoms, but after about a year a painful blister forms just above the ankle. The worm then comes out of the skin over the course of a few weeks.
An ancient Egyptian medical text, the Ebers papyrus from 1550 BC. notes a treatment still used today.
One treatment for dracunculiasis, still used today, is to extract the worm by wrapping the live worm around a stick. As the worm protrudes, the stick is turned gently and slowly until the entire worm is extruded. The process can be long, taking anywhere from hours to a week.
Guinea Worm
This is what you see in the caduceus. A Guinea worm being loosely wrapped around a stick.
Winkler G. Weinberg, MD explains in more detail about the Guinea worm in this article: What does the caduceus represent?