Leech sucks! These are the ones most people heard about – leeches suck blood of people and animals. There are at least 650 species of leeches living all over the world usually thriving in places that are wet or damp. Leeches have a smaller sucker on its front end where its mouth is located and another larger sucker on its back end which helps hold on to surfaces like soil, rocks or animals.
Leeches are popular in prehistoric times to help treat some form of pain. The world’s first anticoagulant hirudin was discovered in the salivary gland of the medicinal leech Hirudo Medicinalis. This made scientist think that the leech is a living pharmacopeia that holds considerable promise in medical biotechnology.
Plastic and microvascular surgeons have been utilizing the ability of this medicinal worm to inject anticoagulants and remove blood. The use of leeches has been reported as an adjunct for grafted skin flaps and breast reconstruction. Removal of accumulated blood seems to be a task where the leech is well settled including their utility in the reattachment of severed digits. The leech is applied to the sutured lines of reimplanted digits in an attempt to reduce venous congestion following surgery where venous returns may be impaired.
The anticoagulants in its saliva cause the bites to bleed for many hours after the leech was detached. Systemic utilization of the leech salivary gland has been reported to prevent some pathological changes of diffuse intravascular coagulation (DIC). Leeches have been recently used in the evacuation of periorbital hematomas, used in treatment of hemorrhoids and varicose veins, prevents consumption of clotting factors and development of multiple microthombi and inhibition of localized hemorrhagic necrosis.
What really entice me to write about leeches is the phrase I’ve stumbled in on one of my research which is about its association to interfere on the metastatic growth of some lung tumors and its efficacy of a fibrinase on atherosclerotic plagues which is still under investigation. However the popularity curve of the leech has been as undulating as the manner in which it swims because its use has its own shortcomings also. Apparently clinicians do not recommend cross application of leeches because of the potential hazard for infection and its ability to harbor certain viruses for extended periods.
Leeches has become one of modern medicine's effective tools to restore blood flow as such as re-attached ears, fingers and toes. When placed on a finger or toe, the germ free leech attaches and begins sucking. The patient feels nothing but oxygen rich blood instantly begins to flow bringing the body part back to life again. Leeches, no matter how weird and yuk it may be, has its own vital medical use.
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