Photomacrograph of the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana. Leeches are aquatic, blood sucking, segmented worms, which mainly feed on mammalian blood. In a single feed they can consume over 3 times their ...

Medicinal leech therapy has a long history in traditional medicine, particularly in the treatment of various ailments related to blood circulation. Recent research has focused on the therapeutic ...

For the first time the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis has been bred in captivity at London zoo, part of a longer-term project to help this fascinating if unloved creature. Once widespread in ...