Links

The Blood Sucking Miracle
[The Telegraph]

Leech convicts Australian robber
[BBC News]

FDA approves leeches as medical devices
[MSNBC]

358 Leeches Help Rebuild Woman's Face After Severe Dog Attack
[The Telegraph]

The humble leech's medical magic
[BBC News]
 
Leeches
[Soil & Water Conservation Society of Metro Halifax]

The effect of garlic, beer, and sour cream on leeches
[University of Bergen]

Stanford surgical helpers are out for blood
[Stanford University]
 
Leeching (medical procedure)
[Britannica Online Encyclopedia]

Interesting Leech Facts

• There are 650 known species of Leeches
  
• The largest leech discovered measured 18 inches.
  
• About one fifth of leech species live in the sea where they feed on fish.
  
• The leech has 32 brains - 31 more than a human.
  
• The Hirudo leech lays its babies within a cocoon; whereas the Amazon leech carries its babies on its stomach - sometimes as many as 300.
  
• Not all leeches are bloodsuckers. Many are predators, which eat earthworms, etc.
  
• At Biopharm we mainly deal with the species Hirudo medicinalis & Hirudo verbana (European Medical Leech) & Hirudinaria manillensis (Asian Medical Leech)

• The first leech was used in medicine about 1000 B.C., probably in ancient India.
  
• In plastic and reconstructive surgery BIOPHARM® LEECHES have helped to save the limbs of patients in 29 different countries. 
  
• The nervous system of the leech is very similar to the human nervous system and is of enormous benefit to researchers in their quest for the answers to human problems.