Star of Life

The Star of Life is a symbol used to identify emergency medical services. It features a blue six-pointed star, outlined by a white border. The middle contains a Rod of Asclepius – an ancient symbol of medicine. The Star of Life can be found on ambulances, medical personnel uniforms, and other objects associated with emergency medicine or first aid. Elevators marked with the symbol indicate the lift is large enough to hold a stretcher. Medical bracelets or tags sometimes use the symbol to indicate that the bearer has a medical condition that emergency services may need to know.

The Star of Life is widely used around the world, but like many international symbols, it has not been adopted everywhere. In some countries, its use is restricted to authorized personnel.