Didnt you ever wonder about Gargoyles? I trained in Rochester, New York, and did a rotation at the old Monroe Community Hospital—a rambling brick building with multiple chimneys and steam rising from the roof in winter looking very much like a medieval castle. But I was always struck by the gargoyles on every corner of the multiple gables (now mostly removed). Here is the entrance and a couple examples:
The original symbol of medicine was the staff of Aesclepius ( the DemiGod of ancient Medicine)👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
A single snake was possibly thought to carry away the soul of the deceased.
But modern medicine has adopted the Caduceus: 👇🏻👇🏻
Now we have two snakes much like the design of the proposed “Cobra Towers” in Kuwait:
But the wings of the Caduceus is the point— they are ftom the Cockatrix , a half bird half reptile which purportedly can kill you with its glance as Shakespeare wrote “ the darting eye of the Cockatrix”.
One should question why a “death bird” becomes part of the symbol of medicine. Here is the Cockatrix, as seen adorning the Belvedere castle in NYC:
And a famous car logo with a reptile eating a human.