Historical Article: Hirudo medicinalis: ancient origins of, and trends in the use of medicinal leeches throughout history
Section snippets
History of leech therapy
Hirudo medicinalis has stimulated human imagination for centuries. Its intimate contact with humans have provoked a somewhat symbiotic relationship in which the leech feeds off humans and humans use the leech for medicine, stories and imagery in popular culture12., 13. (Fig. 1).
It is impossible to note accurately the time when man learned of the
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