The Sumerian god Ningizzida was the patron of medicine. In the image he is accompanied by two gryphons. It is the oldest known image of snakes coiling around an axial rod, dating from before 2000 BCE. A similar image with two snakes coiling around a rod is called the Caduceus and is used in the logo or emblem of the majority of private practices. Medicine is the science and "art" of maintaining and/or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. The term is derived from the Latin ars medicina meaning the art of healing.[1][2] The modern practice of medicine occurs at the many interfaces between the art of healing and various sciences. Medicine is directly connected to the health sciences and biomedicine. Broadly speaking, the term 'Medicine' today refers to the fields of clinical medicine, medical research and surgery, thereby covering the challenges of disease and injury.