TORONTO, ON- OCTOBER 29 - A European medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is bigger after feeding on a blood sausage. The rear of the leech is the bigger part with a smaller head that has multiple ...

Phillips discovered the new leech species in the field, then found specimens in her museum's collections dating back to 1937. If biologists had discovered the "medicinal" leech Macrobdella mimicus 200 ...

Macrobdella mimicus, the first new species of medicinal leech discovered in over 40 years. (The Smithsonian Institution) Macrobdella mimicus, the first new species of medicinal leech discovered in ...

image: An international team of researchers, led by Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) scientist Sebastian Kvist, have announced the completion and results of their work to sequence the genome of Hirudo ...

Medicinal leech therapy (MLT), also known as hirudotherapy, has transcended its ancient origins to become an adjunct in modern clinical practice. The therapy exploits the potent anticoagulant, ...

A new study offers insights into the powerful anticoagulants contained in the saliva of leeches most often used in medical practice. The results of new research published this week in Scientific ...

A recent genetic analysis of the medicinal leech has revealed that one species should be classified as three, and suggests that many leeches sold commercially have been misidentified -- oversights ...

A new species of leech, named Macrobdella mimicus, was first identified from specimens collected in Southern Maryland. (Courtesy Smithsonian) Washington is no stranger to bloodsucking parasites, but ...

Smithsonian Curator Anna Phillips is on a quest to make leeches less repulsive to the public. Erin I. Garcia de Jesus Smithsonian Curator Anna Phillips wants people to be less scared of blood-sucking ...

Macrobdella mimicus, the first new species of medicinal leech discovered in over 40 years With an olive-green body encasing three jaws, each lined with more than 50 teeth, it looks like a ...