Leech Biology for Bushwalkers

Leech Biology and Behaviour

Hirudo medicinalis has virtually an obligatory symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila (= Pseudomonas hirudinis), the only species of bacteria which lives in its gut (Zirpolo 1923; Lehmensick 1941, 1942; Hornbostel 1941; Büsing 1951; Büsing et al. 1953; Wilde 1976; Jennings and Van der Lande 1967; Whitlock, O'Hare, Saunders and Morrow 1983). Aeromonas hydrophila is import...

Developmental biology of the leech Helobdella.

Glossiphoniid leeches of the genus Helobdella provide experimentally tractable models for studies in evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo). Here, after a brief rationale, we will summarize our current understanding of Helobdella development and highlight the near term prospects for future investigations, with respect to the issues of: D quadrant specification; the transition from spiral...

Complications of leech therapy

Objective: The principle of the use of leeches is associated with traditional medicine of many countries and its application has different philosophies for use in different areas of the body. Leeches, with all the benefits, can have dangers. Materials and Methods: A review of complications of leech therapy was done based on English articles indexed in the...

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 151,225-241 (1992) Expression of a Writ Gene in Embryonic Epithelium of the Leech

A new member of the Writ class of cell-cell communication molecules was identified in the leech Helobdella triserialis, on the basis of a conserved 86 amino acid coding sequence and exon structure. This gene, htr-wnt-A, is not an obvious homolog of any one of the previously described wnt class proteins. The embryonic expression of htr-w&A has been characterized at the cellular level, using nonr...

Studies in the biology of the leech IX; the gross nervous system.