Once widespread in the UK, the medicinal leech is now rare due mainly to habitat loss and historic collecting for medical use. In Ireland, the leech was driven to extinction in the 19th century.

rarity and changing medical treatments. Leeches made a medical comeback as “hirudotherapy”, starting in the 1960s and widely used since the 1980s. Researchers have found over 100 substances in ...

Once widespread in the UK, the medicinal leech is now rare due mainly to habitat loss and historic collecting for medical use. In Ireland, the leech was driven to extinction in the 19th century ...

Buglife conservation director Craig Macadam added: "Medicinal leeches have an important place in our medical history but are now one of the rarest invertebrates in Scotland. "The success of the ...

“It is kind of scary to think about (leeches) as your medical treatment, but the people getting those leeches have already had to go through pretty aggressive surgical treatment. These patients ...

A disturbing case involving a leech found inside a toddler’s bladder has gone viral on TikTok, sparking health concerns about ...

Once widespread in the UK, the medicinal leech is now rare due mainly to habitat loss and historic collecting for medical use. In Ireland, the leech was driven to extinction in the 19th century. Their ...

A project to revive the diminishing number of medicinal leeches was launched by the London Zoo and it has been successful.

Carl Peters-Bond says the leech is "starved" for six to nine months before it is used for medical purposes "The leech will attach and that action is drawing the blood through the area that is ...