Leech - Wikipedia The leech appears in the biblical Book of Proverbs as an archetype of insatiable greed [1] The term "leech" is used to characterise a person who takes without giving, living at the expense of others [2]
Leech Animal Facts - Hirudinea - A-Z Animals The leech (Hirudinea) is a predator and blood-sucking parasite that is native to almost every continent This aquatic worm is a member of the Annelida phylum, which means it’s related to the earthworm
8 Unique Characteristics of Leeches - Wildlife Informer In fact, they’re known as predatory worms because they attach themselves to animals and can cause death if too many are attached to one and remain connected for too long There are, however, some leech species that are used in medicine
LEECH Definition Meaning - Merriam-Webster The meaning of LEECH is any of numerous carnivorous or bloodsucking usually freshwater annelid worms (class Hirudinea) that have typically a flattened lanceolate segmented body with a sucker at each end
Leech - New World Encyclopedia The medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, which is native to Europe, and its congeners have been used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years Some species of leech will nurture their young, providing food, transport, and protection, which is unusual behavior in an invertebrate
Leeches in the extreme: Morphological, physiological, and behavioral . . . Leech classification is arranged so that families and genera tend to include members with similar ecological and physiological tolerances Based on the sister group, Branchiobdellida or crayfish worms, being an exclusively freshwater lineage, leeches likely had a freshwater ancestor
How to Remove a Leech Safely and Treat the Bite To remove a leech, slide your fingernail under its mouth (the narrower end), break its seal on your skin, and flick it away The whole process takes seconds and is the safest method because it avoids forcing the leech to regurgitate bacteria-laden gut contents into your wound
Leeches - DesertUSA The leech deposits its eggs in a gelatinous cocoon While there is considerable variability among species, a typical leech may attach the cocoon to submerged plant material or to a stone surface The cocoon is so tough that it will survive passage through the digestive track of a waterfowl
Leech | Annelid, Bloodsucking Parasite Medicinal Uses | Britannica Leech, (subclass Hirudinea), any of about 650 species of segmented worms (phylum Annelida) characterized by a small sucker, which contains the mouth, at the anterior end of the body and a large sucker located at the posterior end