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The great
ASA seal has a long history. Designed by Paul M. Wood,
M.D., for whom the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology
is named, the seal was approved as representing the
Society on April 13, 1932.1
The only problem was, the American Society of Anesthesiologists
did not exist! The seal was approved by the New York
Society of Anesthetists, which on February 13, 1936,
became the American Society of Anesthetists.2
On May 12, 1945, the Society again changed its name
to become the American Society of Anesthesiologists,
emphasizing the medical specialist status of its membership
to differentiate itself from the technician notion
its former name implied.3
The symbolism in the seal, common to the 1930s,4
consists of:
“ …the pilot wheel, perfect circle,
shield, stars, clouds, moon, ship, sea and lighthouse.
The motto is VIGILANCE. The patient is represented
as the ship, sailing the troubled sea with clouds
of doubt, waves of terror, yet being guided by the
skillful pilot (the [physician] anesthetist) with
constant and eternal (stars), vigilance (motto) by
his dependable (lighthouse) knowledge of the art of
sleep (moon) to a safe and happy outcome of his voyage
through the realm of the unknown. The perfect circle
denotes unity of a closed group (the Society).”
1
The three dots following the date of the founding
of the Long Island Society on October 16, 1905, represent
the name changes of the organization. The first dot
represents the original Society (1905-1911); the second
the New York Society of Anesthetists (1911-1936) and
the third, the American Society of Anesthetists (1936-1945).1
Dr. Wood had hoped to use color to enhance the seal
and create a more dramatic picture of the job of the
anesthesiologist. He suggested:
“ …silver for the stars, gold for the
moon, gray to black for the clouds, brown for the
lighthouse base, white for the beams, blue for the
ship, brown for the pilot wheel, letters black [with
the] entire background medical green.” 5
Unfortunately, the American Society never approved
Dr. Wood’s color seal despite creating a past
president’s medal, which displayed the seal
in color. However, at the urging of the Wood Library-Museum,
the 2001 ASA House of Delegates approved a resolution
to create the great seal in color along the lines
of Dr. Wood’s suggestion. As ASA approaches
100 years of dedication to the specialty, the “new”
color seal projects the image of a dedicated group
of physicians striving to keep their patients safe
as they traverse the dangerous and challenging experience
of surgery.
| References: |
| 1. Minutes of Meeting, New York Society of
Anesthetists, April 13, 1932. The Collected
Papers and Minutes of the Long Island, New York
and American Society of Anesthetists (1905-1945).
The Wood Library-Museum Collection, Park Ridge,
Illinois. |
| 2. Letter from Paul Wood to John Lundy, February
14, 1936. The Collected Papers of John S. Lundy,
Mayo Foundation Archive, Rochester, Minnesota. |
| 3. Sim P. Anesthesiology, anesthesiologist,
anesthetics and anesthetist: The emerging professionalism
of a medical specialty. ASA Newsl.
2000; 64(9):15-18. |
| 4. For more information on society seals in
anesthesiology, see: Bacon DR. Iconography in
anesthesiology. The importance of society seals
in the 1920s and 1930s. Anesthesiology.
1996; 85:414-419. |
| 5. Letter from Paul Wood to Winthrop Hall,
June 5, 1961. The Collected Papers of Paul Wood,
M.D., The Wood Library-Museum Collection, Park
Ridge, Illinois. |
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Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., is Associate Professor
of Anesthesiology and the History of Medicine
and Chair, RMH South Division, Mayo Clinic,
Rochester, Minnesota. |
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