Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Leech

 For over 4000 years, the leech has been a familiar remedy, with Greek and Roman physicians praising the application of this clever invertebrate. 

In the 19th century leeches were enjoying a golden age. Millions were raised for medical use as their fame as a cure-all ensued. The mid 1800s saw their constant use for local bloodletting. Druggists administered thousands of leeches to patients with anything from gumboils to facial discolouration. Leeches were applied to the mouth and inside of the throat using a leech-glass, although patients frequently swallowed them. Patients were relieved only with a salty drink of water or perhaps the most popular cure-all of the day, a couple of glasses of wine. Sometimes the leech would not drink and then had to be encouraged by some blood or cream smeared at the puncture site or bathed in a warm glass of beer until ready.

Once sucking, an average leech would drink blood weighing as much as itself in about 15 minutes and consume between 2.5-5.5 grams of blood (half a teaspoon). If the bite failed to stop bleeding after the leech was removed then vinegar, silver nitrate and hot wires were applied.

Apart from using the English and Scottish leeches, huge numbers were imported from France, Hungary, the Ukraine, Turkey, Rumania, Russia, Egypt and Algeria. In 1846 in France alone, 30 million leeches were used. Hospitals in both London and Paris required 13 million between them for that single year. America produced their own leeches and one farm sold over a thousand per day. Leeches were also caught from the wild by many interesting ways, including men bathing a muddy ditch or in a stream with a glass of pig blood, rolling their trousers up and wading into the water. Here they would wait patiently for leeches to adhere themselves to their legs. After a while, back on land the feeding leeches would be stripped off and sold to leech dealers. The leech industry began its decline due to the over collection of the animal and its discredit by the medical profession. By the end of the 19th century the golden age of the leech had passed.

Today leeches are bred in captivity in many institutions including Bristol Zoo Gardens. Leeches have found new fame in microsurgery, where doctors require the precision of the leech to drain congested blood from wounded sites. Plastic surgeons are particularly grateful for the contribution made by the leech, due to their use in the treatment of difficult grafts and reconstructive surgery.