The History of Leeches

Medical leeches - living medicines History of leech therapy The application of leeches is a very old therapy. The first written references can be found in the Ebers papyrus from the 16th century BC. In ancient Indian medicine leeches had a firm place for millennia, Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurveda, carries a leech in one of his four hands. Galenos von Pergamon (129–199 AD) integrated the concept of bleeding into his teaching and recommended the use of leeches for eye infections, nosebleeds, amenorrhea, angina and varicose veins.Leech therapy experienced its heyday in the 19th century, the leech demand reached gigantic proportions. Natural...

Hirudotherapy or treatment with medical leeches, which dates back 2500 years, has been called "living healers" leeches. They were used to shed blood in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon and throughout the ancient world. Hieroglyphs with healing leeches have been found in many places. Cleopatra, famous for her beauty, used the healing properties of medical leeches for her beauty treatments. Medicinal leeches are also known to the ancient Greeks. In Roman times, Galen (130 AD 201 AD) used leeches because he believed that by releasing blood he would get rid of the imbalance of the four moods (blood, lymph, yellow and...

Since ancient Egyptian times, leeches have been used in medicine to treat nervous system abnormalities, dental problems, skin diseases and infections.Today, they are mostly used in plastic surgery and other microsurgery. This is because leeches secrete peptides and proteins that work to prevent blood clots from forming. These secretions are also known as anticoagulants. It keeps the blood flowing to the wounds to help them heal.Currently, leech therapy is experiencing a renaissance due to its simple and inexpensive means of preventing complications. Medicinal leeches have three jaws with tiny rows of teeth. They pierce a person's skin with their teeth...