Using leeches to suck the blood out of a person might sound medieval, but it’s actually a medicinal practice still used today at many trauma hospitals. Though only used in a handful of cases, the ...

The first time I was bitten by a leech, I was swimming in a West Virginia river. I remember the scene perfectly: I crawled out to dry off and tried to wipe the mud off my knees, but the leech wouldn’t ...

As we tidy away the Dracula capes and glow-in-the-dark plastic fangs for another winter, one notorious blood sucker has had a particularly good year. For the first time the medicinal leech Hirudo ...

Since the dawn of civilization, leeches have been firmly attached to medicine. Therapeutic bloodsuckers are seen in murals decorating the tombs of 18 th dynasty Egyptian pharaohs. They got their ...

European medicinal leeches were famous for their popular purpose: treatment for everything from cancer to mental illness. But the high demand left them endangered—still today. Bloodletting ...