what does a doctors logo symbolize

It  gives me a mixed feeling when i am writing this post probably feeling Insane whether is it necessary to write the post, But still  felt important to write this post because i m planing to set a logo for BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Couple of things before coming into the heart of the subject.          Now a days  i am very much associated with doctors much of them are my friends and some i have met regarding my professional career and over to that my  Best  FRIEND is a doctor and this is not the most important part .........The most (( ,actually not finding the right word to describe it is, K let me use)) " exciting or an annoying " that they do not know the meaning of the symbol which they proudly put on there 2-wheeler number plate and on the car windshield..the answer i got from all my friends is (" it is just a symbol does n mean anything not one actually to sum it up from 14 of my friends who are a doctor and out of them some doing there MD & MS ").       Dont you think any symbol used should have a meaning????... So i simply generalized it by saying may be the stick in the middle is a spinal card which symbolizes a human being now there remains two other items in the symbol one of a bird (assuming it to be EAGLE) and other is a snake.....now how to relate a snake and eagle....let me not complicate there relationship in simple words they can be related to the relationship of cat and mouse  (CAT=EAGLE:: MOUSE=SNAKE) ,now relate it to human being .so what i finally summed up is ( DOCTOR= FOR US ALL ARE EQUAL ,There are No ENEMIES /RIVALS)....      Then did a research on what these symbols may really symbolize.here is an intresting fact i got before symbol let me give the meaning of " DOCTOR " D.O. stands for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, the degree awarded to graduates of osteopathic medical schools. K now the next important part that is the symbol or logo   The symbol has a  short rod entwined by two snakes and topped by a pair of wings which is actually the caduceus or magic wand of the Greek god Hermes (Roman Mercury), messenger of the gods, inventor of (magical) incantations, conductor of the dead and protector of merchants and thieves.now what is the relation between medicine and the godHermes.                                                                                                                  The link between Hermes and his caduceus and medicine seems to have arisen by Hermes links with alchemy. Alchemists were referred to as the sons of Hermes, as Hermetists or Hermeticists and as "practitioners of the hermetic arts". By the end of the sixteenth century, the study of alchemy included not only medicine and pharmaceuticals but chemistry, mining and metallurgy. Despite learned opinion that it is the single snake staff of Asclepius that is the proper symbol of medicine, many medical groups have adopted the twin serpent caduceus of Hermes or Mercury as a medical symbol during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Like the staff of Asclepius, the caduceus became associated with medicine through its use as a printer’s mark, as printers saw themselves as messengers of the printed word and diffusers of knowledge (hence the choice of the symbol of the messenger of the ancient gods).   one intresting fact  The Myth: Asclepius is the god of Healing. He is the son of Apollo and the nymph, Coronis. While pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis secretly took a second, mortal lover. When Apollo found out, he sent Artemis to kill her. While burning on the funeral pyre, Apollo felt pity and rescued the unborn child from the corpse. Asclepius was taught about medicine and healing by the wise centaur, Cheiron, and became so skilled in it that he succeeded in bringing one of his patients back from the dead. Zeus felt that the immortality of the Gods was threatened and killed the healer with a thunderbolt. At Apollo's request, Asclepius was placed among the stars as Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer