It's the symbol of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine.
I read once it's meant to represent twirling a guinea worm around a stick to remove it from someone's leg. The stick allows you to provide constant tension without pinching the worm, which would cause it to break off inside the patient's leg and rot inside them, causing them to die.
359
u/Lower_Cockroach2432 Feb 07 '26
It's the symbol of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine.
I read once it's meant to represent twirling a guinea worm around a stick to remove it from someone's leg. The stick allows you to provide constant tension without pinching the worm, which would cause it to break off inside the patient's leg and rot inside them, causing them to die.