Leech therapy has been practiced for centuries and is still offered in parts of Europe. During the procedure, multiple leeches attach and draw blood over an extended period. Medical staff monitor ...

European medicinal leeches were famous for their popular purpose: treatment for everything from cancer to mental illness. But the high demand left them endangered—still today. Bloodletting ...

Since the dawn of civilization, leeches have been firmly attached to medicine. Therapeutic bloodsuckers are seen in murals decorating the tombs of 18 th dynasty Egyptian pharaohs. They got their ...

Using leeches to suck the blood out of a person might sound medieval, but it’s actually a medicinal practice still used today at many trauma hospitals. Though only used in a handful of cases, the ...

Andrew Plucinski’s leeches are picky about skin. When offered the chance to bite a person who bathes in smelly soap they recoil, even when they’re hungry. Leeches prefer their humans unseasoned. In ...

Northumbria University, Newcastle provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK. As we tidy away the Dracula capes and glow-in-the-dark plastic fangs for another winter, one notorious blood ...