Meet Dr.Leech

Bugs and parasites have been used as a way of therapy for thousands of years. They lost their popularity within the half of the 20th century only to create a comeback into modern medicine in the past few years. One such parasite is leeches.

The use of leeches in medicine dates as far back as 2,500 years ago once they were used for bloodletting in ancient Egypt. Up until 100 years ago, the physician's bag usually had some leeches, which were used for blood-letting of patients who had circulation problems. the traditional Egyptian, Greek, and Indian medicine men attached the leech to the body for the cure and detached it by sprinkling some saltwater.

Leeches were thought to be able to cure everything from headaches to brain congestion. They were accustomed cure obesity, hemorrhoids, nephritis, laryngitis, eye disorders furthermore as psychopathy.

The use of leeches in medicine is understood as Hirudotherapy. With the appearance of microsurgeries like plastic and reconstructive surgeries use of leeches declined. In operations, one of the most important problems that arise is venous congestion because of inefficient drainage. If this congestion isn't cleared up quickly, the blood will clot and arteries that bring the tissues their necessary nourishment will become plugged, and also the tissues will die. it's here where the leeches are available in handy. After being applied to the specified site, they suck the surplus blood, reduce the swelling within the tissues, and promote healing by allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to succeed in the realm until normal circulation may be restored. The leeches also secrete an anticoagulant (known as hirudin) that stops the clotting of the blood.

The leech's secretion of an area anesthetic makes the procedure painless aside from the initial attachment phase. They fall off promptly after they need completed feeding.

The Worm

The leech belongs to the category of legless, backboneless worms called annelids or the ringed ones. Of the over 130 species of them, the one employed in medicine is named Hirudo medicinalis. This quaint, dark cylinder has 5 pairs of eyes and two suckers-both on its front and backside. the pinnacle sucker 'searches' and penetrates while the tail sucker holds fast to the host. Young Hirudo prey on frogs and not mammals, since their jaw isn't strong enough to chop through spares eater, though. in an exceedingly full meal lasting half-hour, it takes in about 15 ml of blood, bloating up to 10 times its size, and when done, simply drops off. It feeds just one occasion in 6 months, taking all this while to digest the blood. Bacteria that live within the leeches' body help keep the blood from decaying. Sometimes, when blood isn't easily available, it should go even longer on a quick, digesting its tissues!

Painless Bite

The bite of the Hirudo is painless. Leech saliva contains a variety of compounds that assist in its feeding. An anesthetic limits the sensations felt by the host (and thus reduces the possibility of the host trying to detach the leech). A vasodilator causes the blood vessels near the leech to become dilated, and thus provide the leech with a far better supply.

By far the foremost interesting substance in leech saliva has been hirudin. it's the foremost efficient inhibitor of clotting known up to now. The leech needs this to stop the formation of blood clots (which would block its feeding) within the wound created by its mouthparts. Hirudin in leech guarantees continued blood flow, by disrupting the aggregated fibrin plugs that clot and seal blood leaks. Indeed, even after the leech drops off after feeding, blood is seen to flow for ages from the animal, due to hirudin.

These properties are difficult to realize using other medical techniques, and it's for this reason, leeches have come into clinical practice within the past years.

Leech Business

In medieval Europe, a variety of superstitious ideas and non secular philosophies began to influence the practice of bloodletting. In 1833, bloodletting became so popular in Europe, that the commercial change leeches became a significant industry. France, suffering a deficiency, had to import 41.5 million leeches. The Hirudo medicinalis almost became extinct in Europe thanks to the extremely high demand for them. Leeches were collected in a very particularly creepy way. Leech collectors would wade in leech-infested waters allowing the leeches to connect themselves to the collector's legs. during this way, thousands of leeches might be gathered every day. When the numbers became insufficient, the French and Germans started the practice of leech farming. Elderly horses were used as leech feed where they'd be sent into the water and would later die of blood loss.

SYNTHETIC LEECH

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a mechanical leech as another to real leeches. The synthetic leech mimics the action of the leech with fresh blood to flow through the wound. It can still remove blood for as long as is required whereas the leech only feeds for about half an hour.