aims: a very common species of leeches has been named as hirudo medicinalis. regarding to the application of leeches in medicine and their fast extinction, this study was performed in aquatic habitats of kashan aimed to determine the distribution of leeches and to provide information about their regional and habitat characteristics. materials & methods: this descriptive study was conducted duri...

Hirudin, a thrombin inhibitor isolated from the leech Hirudo medicinalis, has been long known for its anticoagulant effects. In 1990, the former German BGA has published a monograph on Hirudo medicinalis extract (containing Hirudin and Eglin), stating that its local use is indicated in bruises with or without hematoma. The aim of this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was to evalu...

1. A network of four pairs of interneurons, HN(1)-HN(4), times the heartbeat of the medicinal leech. The following model accounts for the stable phase relationships in the network and the network's response to perturbation, entrainment, and stimulation. 2. There are two centers of oscillation, one the HN(3) pair in the third ganglion, the other the HN(4) pair in the fourth ganglion. 3. The two ...

A quartet of interconnected interneurons whose periodic activity appears to generate the traveling body wave of the swimming leech has been identified on each side of segmental ganglia of the ventral nerve cord of Hirudo medicinalis. Theoretical analysis and electronic analog models of the identified intra- and interganglionic synaptic connections of the segmentally iterated interneurons showed...

Hirudo medicinalis has virtually an obligatory symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila (= Pseudomonas hirudinis), the only species of bacteria which lives in its gut (Zirpolo 1923; Lehmensick 1941, 1942; Hornbostel 1941; Büsing 1951; Büsing et al. 1953; Wilde 1976; Jennings and Van der Lande 1967; Whitlock, O'Hare, Saunders and Morrow 1983). Aeromonas hydrophila is import...

The European medicinal leech is one of vanishingly few animal species with direct application in modern medicine. In addition to the therapeutic potential held by many protease inhibitors purified from leech saliva, and notwithstanding the historical association with quackery, Hirudo medicinalis has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as a prescription medical device...