The leech and the physician: biology, etymology, and medical practice with Hirudinea medicinalis - PubMed (original) (raw)
The leech and the physician: biology, etymology, and medical practice with Hirudinea medicinalis
R N Mory et al. World J Surg. 2000 Jul.
Free article
Abstract
The history of the word "leech" and the practice of leeching reveal interconnected social histories. We give the linguistic and medical histories of the word, and explore its biology and clinical history. Our historical account extends from the earliest known record of leeching to current research. Despite historical variation in its reputation as a therapeutic technique, leeching remains useful today in a number of applications. Further investigation may well disclose even more uses for the leech, particularly for its enzymes with anesthetic, anticoagulant, and antimetastatic properties.
Comment in
- Re: The leech and the physician.
Movassaghi G. Movassaghi G. World J Surg. 2001 Apr;25(4):532-3. doi: 10.1007/s002680020035. World J Surg. 2001. PMID: 11344410 No abstract available.
Similar articles
- The history of leeching and hirudin.
Fields WS. Fields WS. Haemostasis. 1991;21 Suppl 1:3-10. doi: 10.1159/000216256. Haemostasis. 1991. PMID: 1894194 - Leeching in the history--a review.
Munshi Y, Ara I, Rafique H, Ahmad Z. Munshi Y, et al. Pak J Biol Sci. 2008 Jul 1;11(13):1650-3. doi: 10.3923/pjbs.2008.1650.1653. Pak J Biol Sci. 2008. PMID: 18819614 Review. - Medicinal Leech Therapy: Friend or Foe.
Spear M. Spear M. Plast Surg Nurs. 2016 Jul-Sep;36(3):121-5. doi: 10.1097/PSN.0000000000000152. Plast Surg Nurs. 2016. PMID: 27606587 - [Bloodletting; a popular form of treatment that disappeared].
Keeman JN. Keeman JN. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2007 Jan 20;151(3):206-11. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2007. PMID: 17288348 Dutch. - Leeches--the good, the bad and the wiggly.
O'Dempsey T. O'Dempsey T. Paediatr Int Child Health. 2012 Nov;32 Suppl 2:S16-20. doi: 10.1179/2046904712Z.00000000074. Paediatr Int Child Health. 2012. PMID: 23394754 Review.
Cited by
- Exploration of leech therapy in treating gouty rats and its uric acid lowering mechanism.
Chao GL, Shen LX, Li P, Hua PX, Ling ML, Yuan ZY, Chuang C. Chao GL, et al. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2024 Jul-Aug;15(4):100949. doi: 10.1016/j.jaim.2024.100949. Epub 2024 Jul 9. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2024. PMID: 38986268 Free PMC article. - 'Pearls' of the nineteenth-century: from therapeutic actors to global commodities medicinal leeches in the Ottoman Empire.
Arabacı B. Arabacı B. Med Hist. 2023 Apr;67(2):128-147. doi: 10.1017/mdh.2023.17. Epub 2023 Aug 1. Med Hist. 2023. PMID: 37525461 Free PMC article. - Leech Therapy Protects Free Flaps against Venous Congestion, Thrombus Formation, and Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury: Benefits, Complications, and Contradictions.
Mousavian A, Sabzevari S, Parsazad S, Moosavian H. Mousavian A, et al. Arch Bone Jt Surg. 2022 Mar;10(3):252-260. doi: 10.22038/ABJS.2022.55013.2736. Arch Bone Jt Surg. 2022. PMID: 35514759 Free PMC article. Review. - A Case Report on Leech Infestation as a Cause of Severe Anemia in a 10-Month-Old Infant in Ethiopia.
Getahun AM, Endayehu Y, Berhanu GD. Getahun AM, et al. Int Med Case Rep J. 2021 Feb 18;14:111-114. doi: 10.2147/IMCRJ.S292226. eCollection 2021. Int Med Case Rep J. 2021. PMID: 33633470 Free PMC article. - Non-Occlusive Mesenteric Ischemia Due to Hirudotherapy: A Case Report.
Akalın Ç, Ekmen N. Akalın Ç, et al. Cureus. 2020 Jul 30;12(7):e9467. doi: 10.7759/cureus.9467. Cureus. 2020. PMID: 32874797 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources