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The price of leeches varied between one penny and threepence halfpenny each. In 1832 leeches accounted for 4.4% of the total hospital expenditure. The hospital maintained an aquarium for leeches until the 1930s. [15] The use of leeches began to become less widespread towards the end of the 19th century. [5]
[4] [5] Among Euhirudinea, the true leeches, the smallest is about 1 cm (1 ⁄ 2 in) long, and the largest is the giant Amazonian leech, Haementeria ghilianii, which can reach 30 cm (12 in). Except for Antarctica, [ 4 ] leeches are found throughout the world but are at their most abundant in temperate lakes and ponds in the northern hemisphere.
The red-and-white-striped pole of the barbershop, still in use today, is derived from this practice: the red symbolizes blood while the white symbolizes the bandages. Bloodletting was used to "treat" a wide range of diseases, becoming a standard treatment for almost every ailment, and was practiced prophylactically as well as therapeutically.
Hirudiculture is the culture, or farming, of leeches in both natural and artificial environments. This practice drew the attention of Parisian savants and members of the French Société Zoologique d'Acclimitation in the mid-to-late 19th century as a part of a larger interest in the culture of fish and oysters. [1]
The collector would sometimes gather the leeches by attracting them to the legs of animals, often old horses. More commonplace was for the collector to use their own legs, gathering the leech after it had finished sucking enough blood. Many in the profession suffered from the effects of the loss of blood and infections spread by the leeches. [1]
The leeches help localize the wound and help produce blood flow. This is helpful in operations where blood clots occur and they help dilate the blood vessels. Baron Dominique Jean Larrey, surgeon-in-chief of Napoleon's Grande Armée pioneered the use of maggots to prevent infection in wounds. [28]
Hirudo is a genus of leeches of the family Hirudinidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. [2] The two well-accepted species within the genus are: [3] Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758; Hirudo nipponia Whitman, 1886
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