What is the snake-and-staff medical symbol from ancient Greece called?

The snake-and-staff medical symbol from ancient Greece is called the Rod of Asclepius.

The Rod of Asclepius shows a single serpent coiled around a staff. Asclepius was the Greek god associated with medicine and healing, so the emblem became linked with physicians and medical treatment. It remains widely used by hospitals, health agencies and professional medical organisations.

The symbol is frequently confused with the caduceus, which has two snakes and wings. The caduceus was associated with Hermes, the messenger god, and is not the original Greek medical emblem. Some organisations nevertheless use it because of historical and commercial adoption.

The serpent may have carried healing associations in the ancient world, where snakes were connected with renewal because they shed their skin. Archaeological and literary evidence also links Asclepius’s cult with nonvenomous snakes. The Rod of Asclepius is therefore a cultural symbol, not a claim that one particular snake species represents medicine.