Talk:Caduceus

Coat of arms of Ecuador

Coat of arms of Ecuador

I added the coat of arms of Ecuador. It's small, but a caduceus is the mast of the steamship in the river. I hope I edited the alt text correctly. The flag of Ecuador also could be added. -- Misha Vargas (talk) 21:25, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

I reverted your edit because the device on the mast could be anything. Do you have a citation?--𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 23:58, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

The caduceus pictured in the coat of arms is specifically mentioned in the official description of the coat of arms, and archived official descriptions of the arms can be found at Coat of arms of Ecuador. -- Misha Vargas (talk) 00:15, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Coincidentally, I decided to check on a bigger screen and realised that you were correct all along, so I have already reinstated your edit. I have now also changed the caption so that it links directly to the coat of arms page, where the formal description is given.

I don't think the flag would be a good idea since one image is enough to illustrate and the device on the flag is even tinier. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 00:26, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Yes, it is there, but effectively invisible. I suggest the caption be changed to "On the coat of arms of Ecuador, the ship's mast is a caduceus."

Humpster (talk) 15:40, 16 April 2025 (UTC)

I agree. Go ahead. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 15:50, 16 April 2025 (UTC)

"Many healthcare professionals"

The article says, "Given that the caduceus is primarily a symbol of commerce and other non-medical symbology, many healthcare professionals disapprove of this use." But the source dates to 1929; perhaps there is a more modern source to indicate "many" healthcare professionals -- especially since the provided source mentions exactly three. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 15:55, 6 September 2026 (UTC)

I agree, and is it even accurate that it is "primarily a symbol of commerce and other non-medical symbology"? It seems like its current primary use is medical, for good or for bad. Reflecktor (talk) 20:41, 6 September 2026 (UTC)

Caduceus as a symbol of medicine discusses this pretty well. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 21:30, 6 September 2026 (UTC)

That usage is peculiar to the US.

I am reinstating the paragraph you deleted because if anything the disapproval has grown, even in the US. Only commercial "health-adjacent" businesses use it nowadays, it seems. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 17:36, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

<citation needed> for all of that. The 1929 article certainly does not suffice. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 17:50, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

"Given that the caduceus is primarily a symbol of commerce and other non-medical symbology, many healthcare professionals disapprove of this use" is not a summary of article content per MOS:LEAD (the previous sentence is, has encyclopedic value and is helpful to our readers). Also, a source from 97 years ago is no good for claiming "many disapprove". People disapproved of all sorts of stuff in 1929. NebY (talk) 17:55, 8 September 2026 (UTC) That source doesn't even say many disapprove, only that "The majority of medical opinion now favors the use of the Aesculapian rod as a medical symbol", and that without any hint of being soundly based on any opinion poll or suchlike. I've removed that sentence. NebY (talk) 18:28, 8 September 2026 (UTC)