Just as pharmacists have the mortar and pestle, and doctors have the Caduceus, Emergency Medical Technicians have a symbol. This symbol, the Star of Life, was designed in 1973 by Leo R. Schwartz, Chief of the EMS Branch, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The snake and staff in the center of the symbol refer to the staff of Asclepius, who was the son of Apollo, in Greek mythology. Allegedly, Asclepius learned the art of healing from the centaur Cheron; but Zeus-king of the gods- was fearful that due to what Asclepius had learned, men might be rendered immortal. Rather than have this occur, he slew Asclepius with a bolt of lightning! Later, Asclepius was worshipped as a god, and people slept in his temples, as it was rumored that he came to the sick during their dreams and healed them.
The Bible, in Numbers 21:9, makes reference to a serpent on a staff:"Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole; and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked upon the bronze serpent, they recovered".Each of the bars in the new symbol represent the six system functions of the EMS, as illustrated below:
