Hematophagous animals including leeches have been known to possess biologically active compounds in their secretions, especially in their saliva. The blood-sucking annelids, leeches have been used for therapeutic purposes since the beginning of civilization. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek and Arab physicians used leeches for a wide range of diseases starting from the conventional use for bleed...

BACKGROUND Leeches are a well-recognized treatment for congested tissue. This study reviewed the efficacy of leech therapy for salvage of venous congested flaps and congested replanted or revascularized hand digits over a 2-year period. METHODS All patients treated with leeches between 1 Oct 2010 and 30 Sep 2012 (two years) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK were included in the stud...

A written informed consent should be obtained from the patient before hirudotherapy is initiated. The patients should be treated each day of leech therapy with anti-Aeromonas antibiotics. Leeches should be applied on the darker spots of the reattached body parts or flaps. Usually 1-10 leeches are used for each treatment, while at the beginning, the patient might need two or more treatments per ...

BACKGROUND Leeches are commonly used in reconstructive surgery for the treatment of venous congestion in flaps. Documented mechanisms of action are (1) injection of the anticoagulant hirudin; (2) active suction of blood; and (3) passive oozing of the bite wound. Even though the benefits of leeches in venous congestion are widely accepted, little is known about their effects in mixed arterio-ven...

In this paper, the very first checklist of the freshwater leeches of Maloe More Strait, a special part of Lake Baikal, is presented. It includes 14 free-living and parasitic species, of which four species belong to endemic Baikal genera - two species from Baicalobdella and one species each from Baicaloclepsis and Codonobdella. The checklist highlights six potentially new morphological species r...

In Southeast Asian nations, cultured hybrid groupers are facing serious infestation by the marine parasitic leech Zeylanicobdella arugamensis (Annelida, Hirudinea). They attach to sucking and biting on surface of skin, paving way for secondary infection upon fish. The objective study is utilize locally available seaweed control leeches. methanol extracts brown alga Sargassum polycystum C. Agard...

The behavioural state of an organism consists of an array of constituent behaviours or responses which may be altered differentially as the behavioural state of an animal changes (Kupferman et al. 1991). The medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis , exhibits a long cycle in feeding behaviour (Dickinson and Lent, 1984). When they have not fed for some months, Hirudo exhibit an array of appetitive be...