The History of Leeches — hirudin

Medical leeches - living medicines History of leech therapy The application of leeches is a very old therapy. The first written references can be found in the Ebers papyrus from the 16th century BC. In ancient Indian medicine leeches had a firm place for millennia, Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurveda, carries a leech in one of his four hands. Galenos von Pergamon (129–199 AD) integrated the concept of bleeding into his teaching and recommended the use of leeches for eye infections, nosebleeds, amenorrhea, angina and varicose veins.Leech therapy experienced its heyday in the 19th century, the leech demand reached gigantic proportions. Natural...