Where and how do leeches hibernate. Medical leech: features and interesting facts. The external structure of a leech

The long-awaited report from the leech farm. You will learn how leeches live in captivity,
what they eat, how they reproduce. For the first time we managed to shoot unique shots
birth of leeches in natural conditions and in captivity.

Five pairs of eyes were intensely watching the water column, all the senses were aimed at finding the victim. For more than three weeks, in search of food, one has to move from one corner of the reservoir to another. Even repeated attacks on land did not bring the desired result. Sad thoughts overcame the vampire. Blood and only blood... “Well, you can hold out for another three months, but if happiness does not smile, you will have to emigrate to a nearby reservoir; they say that cattle come there to drink...” A splash was heard somewhere, another, a third - the steel muscles tensed. The vampire determined the source of the vibrations and directed his body towards the victim with smooth wave-like movements. Here she is! Light, warm body, and how little wool, if only not to miss. The vampire spread his huge mouth, bared three terrible jaws with the sharpest teeth, and dug into the victim... A heartbreaking cry resounded the water surface of the reservoir.
01.


02. Today we will tell you about International Center medicinal leech, created on the basis of the association "Medpiyavka", formed in 1937, which was engaged in keeping leeches in artificial ponds of the holiday village Udelnaya (Moscow region).


03. At 2500 sq. m. there are production facilities for growing more than 3,500,000 medicinal leeches and the production of cosmetic products.


04. In total, 400 species of leeches are known to science, which look approximately the same and differ mainly in color. Leeches are black, greenish or brownish. Russian name These nimble worms indicate their ability to "dig into" the victim's body and suck out blood.


05. Leeches live in three-liter jars. Nothing better as a house for them came up with. The leech breeder must ensure that the vessel with leeches is constantly closed with a thick white cloth, which is tightly tied.


06. Leeches are unusually mobile and often tend to crawl out of the water. Therefore, they are able to easily leave the container in which they are stored. Escapes occasionally happen.


07. A leech has 10 eyes, but the leech does not perceive a complete image. Despite the seeming primitiveness of the sensory perception of leeches, they perfectly orient themselves in space. Their sense of smell, taste and touch are extraordinarily developed, which contributes to their success in finding prey. First of all, leeches respond well to odors emanating from objects immersed in water. Leeches do not tolerate foul-smelling water.


08. Unhurried, devoid of sharp movements allow you to see the entire body of a leech. On the back, against a dark background, bright orange blotches form a fancy pattern in the form of two stripes. On the sides - black piping. The abdomen is delicate, light olive in color with black edging. The body of an ordinary medical leech consists of 102 rings. On the dorsal side, the rings are covered with many small papillae. On the ventral side, the papillae are much smaller and less visible.


09. But behind the harmless external beauty of a leech lies its secret weapon - the front sucker, outwardly invisible. A large, intimidating rear sucker does not cause any physical damage, but in the depths of the front, the jaws lurk, geometrically located according to the sign of a prestigious company automotive world- Mercedes. In each jaw, there are up to 90 teeth, a total of 270. Here it is - deceit.


10. Record maximum size leeches grown in this center - 35 centimeters in length. The leech in the photo still has everything ahead.


11. Bitten by a leech - like a nettle stung. The bite of the same horsefly or ant is much more painful. Leech saliva contains painkillers (analgesics). The leech feeds exclusively on blood. Hematophagus, that is, a vampire.


12. The epidermal layer of the leech is covered with a special film - the cuticle. The cuticle is transparent, it performs a protective function and continuously grows, being periodically updated in the process of molting. Normally, molting occurs in leeches every 2-3 days.


13. Dropped films look like white flakes or small white cases. They clog the bottom of the vessels for storing used leeches, and therefore must be removed regularly, and the water is also periodically stained from digestion products. Water is changed twice a week.


14. Water is specially prepared: it settles for at least a day, it is purified from harmful impurities and heavy metals. After cleaning and passing control, the water is heated to desired temperature and enters the common network for leeches.


15.


16. Leeches poop up to several times a day, so the water in the vessel where the used leeches are stored is periodically stained. The clogging of water that occurs from time to time does not cause any harm to leeches if the water is systematically changed.


17. The most important condition for the rapid cultivation of full-fledged medicinal leeches is their regular feeding with fresh blood, which is purchased from slaughterhouses.


18. Large clots are used, formed during the coagulation of the blood mass. For the full feeding of leeches, only the blood of healthy animals, mainly large and small cattle, is taken. Clots are placed at the bottom of special vessels, where leeches are then released.


19. To make it pleasant for leeches to eat, a film is laid on them, which they bite through and suck blood out of habit.


20. During growth, the leech feeds every one and a half to two months.


21. After the leeches have grown and starved for at least three months, they are collected in a series and sent for certification, and then they go on sale or are used in the production of cosmetics. The Center has an accredited laboratory of the quality control department. But more on that tomorrow.


22. For one feeding, a leech sucks out five times its weight, after which it may not eat for three to four months, a maximum of a year. After eating, the leech looks like a solid muscle bag filled with blood. In her digestive tract there are special substances that protect the blood from putrefaction, which preserve it in such a way that the blood always remains complete and stored for a long time.


23. A leech usually eats up in 15-20 minutes. A sign that the leech is full, foam appears.


24. Well-fed leeches are trying to escape from the "dining room".


25. Yum-yum!

26. After feeding, the leeches are washed.

27. And they put it back in the jar.


28.


29. And they wash the dishes.


30.


31. Leeches communicate with each other extremely rarely, only during the mating period. And then, most likely, out of necessity, so as not to die out. Leeches that are suitable for reproduction, that is, carefully fed and have reached a given size, are called queens.


32. They are placed in pairs in jars filled with water and stored in special rooms where optimum temperature an environment that supports the activity of leeches and their reproductive abilities. Copulation and laying of cocoons with eggs occur in leeches at an environmental temperature of 25 to 27 °C. And although each individual carries both the male and female principles (hermaphrodites), she cannot satisfy herself in this intimate matter and is looking for a partner.


33. mating season, during which mating takes place, takes about 1 month, after which the leeches are seated in queen cells - three-liter jars. Moist peat soil is placed at the bottom of the mother liquor, which is a favorable environment for medical leeches and their cocoons. Soft moss sods are lined over the peat, which regulate soil moisture. The queens move freely on the moss, in which they feel comfortable, and gradually dig into the peat.


34. Leeches practice different positions in which copulation is carried out. There are 2 main positions that make biological sense. First position: the front ends of the bodies of copulating leeches are directed in one direction. The second main position: the ends of the bodies are opposite, that is, they look in different directions.


35. The peat is thoroughly washed so that the leeches are damp and comfortable.

36.


37. By light rings, you can identify a pregnant leech and plant it in a jar of peat.


38. Breaking through a shallow passage in the soil, the leech lays a cocoon in it, from which the threads are subsequently removed - this is the name of the leech growers of small young leeches. Their mass reaches a force of 0.03 g, and the body length is 7-8 mm. Filaments are fed in the same way as adults.


39. Each mother leech lays on average 3-5 cocoons, each of which contains 10-15 fry.


40. After a while, the cocoons become like soft foam balls.


41. It can be seen through the light that fry are sitting inside the cocoon.


42. And here are unique birth shots. The leech leaves the cocoon through a hole in the end.


43.


44. The first minutes of the life of a small leech.


45. And this is how they are born in the conditions of the center. The cocoons just burst.


46. ​​A leech lives in the center for a year and a half, then it is given away for the treatment of people or processed into cosmetics.

Wondering how many teeth a leech has? What a score! You have found the right site! Learn the structure of a leech from an expert - doctor - hirudotherapist A. Novocidu

Leeches are not only a medicine for me, but also an object of tender passion and scientific interest. There was even a case, I was engaged in breeding them. I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and only the truth, how many teeth a leech has, otherwise there are so many nonsense written on the Internet about this that it becomes a pity for misinformed readers. But first, a few words about the structure.

Structural features

There are about 400 species left on earth, most of them on the verge of extinction. The natural medicinal leech in Russia is listed in the Red Book. They are called bdella in another way, and in old books hirudotherapy was called bdellotherapy. In Europe, three varieties of leeches are medicinal for humans:

• Apothecary Hirudo Medicinalis Officinalis
• Medical Hirudo Medicinalis Medicinalis,
• Eastern Hirudo Medicinalis Orientalis

The external structure of the leech resembles the structure of annelids with a round body, slightly flattened from the back and abdomen. With the naked eye, you can see 2 suction cups at the ends. One, clearly visible, in the tail. It does not seem to be of any interest, and is only needed as a means of movement and attachment to surfaces. The second is almost imperceptible, but it hides the most interesting thing, the mouth opening. An adult is up to 20 cm long.

The leech has a very original structure body. It has four layers of different muscle fibers, these are:

• circular fibers, the functional duties of which include the process of suction of the nutrient medium, that is, blood;
• diagonal and longitudinal muscles responsible for contractile and tensile body movements;
• dorso-abdominal muscles, with the help of which the leech can sleep almost flat,

Its connective tissue is also distinguished by a structural feature. It is slightly denser than other representatives of this species, very elastic, and covers not only the muscles, but also other organs.

The leech has an elastic and elastic body with each type of muscle perfectly developed in its structure. It is divided into several dozen segments, on the surface of each there are sensory papillae. The coloration is dark, greenish-brown, with a reddish stripe on the back, which is better visible when the leech swims in the water. The belly is lighter than the back. In a pregnant female, a yellowish belt can be seen closer to the anterior end of the body, and genitals. The leech is a hermaphrodite, so both the female opening and the male tubercle are visible on her belly. They mate in water and lay cocoons in peat.

The sense organs of leeches are something incredible. Her structure did not provide, as such, no ears, no nose, not even a tongue. But, on the other hand, the leech has five pairs of eyes. True, such an amount does not make her eyesight sharp, leeches are able to distinguish only light and shadow, and, well, a little outline of objects. But, this is compensated a hundredfold by the presence of feeling the slightest fluctuations in water.

The question is brewing, how is it possible to live with only part of the senses. Everything is much simpler and more ingenious. The structure of the skin of a leech is worthy of attention even by a science fiction writer. It is all dotted with nerve endings, or, in other words, sensitive kidneys. No wonder leeches, wherever they are in the pond, instantly rush to where the source of noise is, especially if alluring smells come from there, portending the opportunity to eat tightly.

At one time, even before the creation of leech farms, Duremar catchers used these qualities of leeches. Entering the pond, they tried to make as much noise as possible, and the more intense the noise, the more leeches flocked to them. Then it remained only to unhook them from the top of the boots.

Interestingly, if you throw new and worn shoes into the pond, the leeches will be primarily interested in the one that has been in use and soaked in the smell of its owner.

Leeches perfectly feel the change in the weather, no matter how strange it may seem, but in bad weather and rain, leeches do not leave their shelters, they can only be attracted on quiet sunny days.

But, the most interesting thing is the digestive system of leeches, which should be discussed separately.

The digestive system or how many teeth a leech has

But the leech has three of them. The expression "armed to the teeth" can be safely attributed to leeches, as each of their jaws is equipped with an incredible amount of strong chitinous teeth.

How many teeth does a leech have? By different sources their number can be from 70 to 100 on each jaw. But I asked Professor Sergei Utevsky, a world-famous expert on leeches, if there was any species difference. The professor said that Hirudo Orientalis leeches have an average of 80 teeth per jaw, ranging from 71 to 91 teeth. Other species have up to 100 teeth per jaw. That's it! Between the teeth there are holes through which saliva is supplied to the wound. And these jaws work no worse than an oil drill, since the main task- do not bite, but quickly drill a hole and inject saliva into it, which does not allow blood to clot. The bite leaves a mark resembling an inverted Y inside a circle - the sign of Mercedes. After piercing the skin and injecting an anticoagulant (hirudin) and anesthetics, they suck out blood. Large adults can consume blood up to ten times more weight of your body per feeding, an average of 5-15 ml. The process of sucking blood takes from 10 to 30 minutes. Having satiated, the animal can live quietly for up to one and a half years without harming itself.

This is where new miracles begin. The structure of the intestines of the leech allows you to keep the blood fresh, preventing it from spoiling or coagulating. The trick is that the leech does not have digestive enzymes, these wonderful creatures got out of the situation completely. original way. They got themselves a faithful assistant and guard in one person. This beneficial bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila Aeromonas veronii, and its varieties. In addition to the fact that the bacterium contributes to the uniform digestion of food, it, like a faithful guard, disinfects the blood eaten, and does not let any pathogenic microbes into its dwelling. This microorganism is credited with an immunostimulatory effect on the human body. Every time a leech feeds on human blood, tiny amounts of the microbe enter the bloodstream and act like a vaccine. In response to its introduction, antibodies are produced. However, there are cases when, having entered the body of weakened patients, the microbe caused the disease. Read about and about and for what they put

Bibliography: Comparative structural analysis of jaws of selected blood-feeding and predacious arhynchobdellid leeches (Annelida: Clitellata: Hirudinida) M. V. Kovalenko S. Y. Utevsky in Zoomorphology

But for treatment, only a medical leech is used. Among medical leeches, there are two subspecies:

Medicinal leech (Hirudina medicinalic)

Apothecary leech (Hirudina officinalic)

Color. May vary from black to reddish-brown. Abdomen motley. The sides are green with an olive tint.

Size. About 3 - 15 cm - length, about 1 cm - width.

Lifespan. Up to 20 years.

Habitat. They are found mainly in Africa, Central and Southern Europe, as well as Asia Minor. In Russia, they are not so numerous, they mainly spread to the south of the European part of the country. Although there is evidence that individual individuals of the species were found in the southern and eastern parts of Siberia.

They love fresh clean water- lakes, ponds, quiet rivers, as well as damp places near the water - clay shores, wet moss. Leeches live in stagnant water - running water is unfavorable for them.

Lifestyle and behavior. Most of the time, the medicinal leech spends hiding in thickets of algae, hiding under snags or stones. This is both a cover and an ambush.

Leeches love warm sunny weather and even tolerate heat quite well, it is in these conditions that they are most active. They are also not afraid of drought - they either crawl away from a drying up reservoir, or dig deeper into the coastal silt. Leeches are capable for a long time stay on land in hot and humid weather.

With the deterioration of conditions (lower air temperature, windy weather), medical leeches become lethargic and passive. Leeches overwinter by burrowing into coastal silt or bottom soil. Frosts are detrimental to them.

The body of the leech is greatly flattened and elongated when swimming, and the posterior sucker acts as a fin. With wave-like movements, the leech moves in the water.

For medical leeches, an instant reaction to external stimuli is quite characteristic: smell, temperature, splash.

A hungry leech can be recognized by the characteristic position of the body - it sticks to a plant or stone with its back suction cup, while the front one makes circular movements.

Enemies: Desman, water rat, shrews, bugs, dragonfly larvae.

Nutrition. As food, medical leeches use the blood of worms, mollusks and vertebrates, and in their absence they can eat insect larvae, ciliates, mucus aquatic plants. The leech bites through the skin of the victim and sucks out a small amount of blood, about 10-15 ml. Having satiated, the leech can remain without food for quite a long time - an average of six months, since the blood in its body is digested slowly. However, a record fasting period was observed, which amounted to 1.5 years.

Reproduction. The medicinal leech is a hermaphrodite. Leeches begin to lay eggs during the warm period, approximately two weeks before the end of August or in mid-September. With unfavorable weather conditions this period comes earlier or is delayed.

In the process of reproduction, the leech crawls out onto land, digs a small depression in the silt, then a special department of medical leeches, buy medical leeches, buy leeches in Perm, buy leeches in Perm, the cover of a leech - a girdle - secretes a foamy cocoon in which eggs are laid. This cocoon contains albumin, a protein that serves as food for embryos. The egg incubation period is about two months.

Newborn medicinal leeches are transparent and resemble adults, they still spend some time in a cocoon, feeding on albumin, but soon crawl out. Small leeches that have not reached puberty attack tadpoles, snails, frogs.

If a leech does not drink the blood of a mammal within three years from the moment it emerges from the cocoon, it will never reach puberty.

The body is flattened in the dorsal-abdominal direction, bears two suckers. The anterior or oral sucker is formed as a result of the fusion of four segments; at its bottom there is a mouth opening. The posterior sucker is formed by the fusion of seven segments. The total number of body segments is 30-33, including segments that form suckers. Parapodia are absent. True leeches lack bristles, bristle-bearing ones have. Leeches living in water swim, bending their body in waves, land leeches "walk" on the ground or leaves, alternately sticking to the substrate with either the front or the back suction cup.

rice. 1. Diagram of the structure of the front
end of the body of a medical leech:
1 - ganglion, 2 - longitudinal muscles,
3 - pharynx, 4 - muscles of the pharynx,
5 - jaws, 6 - wall
front sucker.

Part skin-muscular sac includes a dense cuticle, a single-layer epithelium, annular and longitudinal muscles. The epithelium contains pigment and glandular cells. The cuticle is divided into small rings; the outer segmentation does not correspond to the larger inner segmentation.

In general, in bristle-bearing leeches it is preserved, in real leeches it is reduced to one degree or another. In most species of true leeches, the secondary cavity is filled with parenchyma, and longitudinal lacunar canals remain from the coelom.

rice. 2. Structure diagram
medicinal leech:
1 - head ganglia,
2 - oral sucker,
3 - pockets of the stomach,
4 - midgut,
5 - hindgut,
6 - anus,
7 - rear suction cup,
8 - abdominal nervous
chain, 9 - metanephridia,
10 - testes, 11 - egg
bag, 12 - vagina,
13 - copulatory organ.

A real closed-type circulatory system, similar to that of oligochaetes or polychaetes, is found only in some species of leeches (bristle-bearing leeches). In jawed leeches, the circulatory system is reduced, and its role is played by lacunae of coelomic origin: dorsal, ventral, and two lateral.

Gas exchange occurs through the integument of the body, some sea leeches have gills.

Excretory organs - metanephridia.

Nervous system represented by the ventral nerve cord, which is characterized by partial fusion of the ganglia. The subpharyngeal ganglion consists of four pairs of merged ganglia, the last ganglion of seven pairs. The sense organs of leeches are goblet organs and eyes. Goblet organs - chemoreception organs - are located in transverse rows on each segment, with their help, leeches learn about the approach of the victim, identify each other. The eyes are transformed goblet organs of the anterior segments, they have only a photosensitive value. The number of eyes different types- from one to five pairs.

Leeches are hermaphrodites. Fertilization is usually internal. The eggs are laid in cocoons. Postembryonic development is direct.

The Leech class is subdivided into subclasses: 1) Ancient, or Bristle-bearing leeches (Archihirudinea), 2) True leeches (Euhiridinea). The subclass Real leeches is divided into two orders: 1) Proboscis (Rhynchobdellea), 2) Proboscis (Arhynchobdellea).

rice. 3. Appearance
medicinal leech

Detachment Beskhobotnye (Arhynchobdellea)

Medical leech (Hirudo medicinalis)(Fig. 3) is bred in the laboratory for medical purposes. The body length is on average 120 mm, width 10 mm, the maximum values ​​can be much higher. Each of the three jaws has 70-100 sharp "teeth". After a leech bite, a trace remains on the skin in the form of an equilateral triangle.

Under laboratory conditions, they reach sexual maturity in 12-18 months and breed at any time of the year. The reproductive system consists of nine pairs of testes and one pair of ovaries enclosed in egg sacs. The vas deferens merge into the ejaculatory canal, which ends with the copulatory organ. The oviducts leave the ovaries, which flow into the convoluted uterus, which opens into the vagina. Fertilization is internal. Cocoons are oval in shape and reddish-gray in color, average length 20 mm, width 16 mm. In one cocoon from 15 to 20 eggs. The egg diameter is about 100 microns. After 30-45 days, small leeches, 7-8 mm long, emerge from the cocoons. In laboratory conditions, they are fed on blood clots of mammals.

Adult leeches are used for hypertension, strokes, for resorption of subcutaneous hemorrhages. Hirudin, contained in the saliva of leeches, prevents the development of blood clots that clog blood vessels.

In nature, medicinal leeches live in small fresh water bodies and feed on mammals and amphibians.

rice. 4. Big
false horse leech

Large pseudohorse leech (Haemopis sanguisuga)(Fig. 4) lives in fresh water bodies. Leads predatory image life, feeds on invertebrates and small vertebrates, swallowing them whole or in part. The mouth and pharynx can be greatly stretched. The number of blunt "teeth" on each jaw is 7-18. Stomach - with one pair of pockets.

The false horse leech is often confused with the medical one, although they are quite easily distinguished by the color of the dorsal side of the body. The dorsal surface of the body of the false horse leech is black, uniform, sometimes with randomly scattered dark spots. On the dorsal side of the body of a medical leech there is a characteristic pattern in the form of longitudinal stripes. False horse leeches should not be kept together with medical ones, as they eat them.

In Latin hirūdō find the same suffix as in testūdō"tortoise", however, the etymologization of the root causes difficulties. As possible relatives are called hīra"small intestine" and haruspex"haruspex".

Structure

The body length of different representatives varies from a few millimeters to tens of centimeters. Most major representative - Haementeria ghilianii(up to 45 cm).

The anterior and posterior ends of the body of leeches bear suckers. At the bottom of the anterior there is a mouth opening leading to the pharynx. Proboscis leeches (detachment Rhynchobdellida) the pharynx is able to move outward. In jawed leeches (for example, medicinal leeches) oral cavity armed with three movable chitinous jaws that serve to cut through the skin.

Nutrition

Biology of the body

The body is elongated or oval, more or less flattened in the dorsal-abdominal direction, clearly divided into small rings, which in number 3-5 correspond to one segment of the body; numerous glands in the skin that secrete mucus; at the posterior end of the body there is usually a large sucker, often at the anterior end there is a well-developed sucker, in the center of which the mouth is placed; more often, the mouth is used for suction. At the anterior end of the body there are 1-5 pairs of eyes arranged in an arc or in pairs one after the other. Powder on the dorsal side above the rear suction cup. The nervous system consists of a two-lobed supraesophageal ganglion, or brain, connected to it by short commissures of the subpharyngeal ganglion (derived from several merged nodes of the abdominal chain) and the abdominal chain itself, located in the abdominal blood sinus and having about 20 nodes. The head node innervates the sense organs and the pharynx, and 2 pairs of nerves depart from each node of the abdominal chain, innervating the body segments corresponding to them; the lower wall of the intestine is equipped with a special longitudinal nerve that gives branches to the blind sacs of the intestine. The digestive organs begin with a mouth armed with either three chitinous toothed plates (maxillary P. - Gnathobdellidae), which serve to cut through the skin when sucking blood in animals, or a proboscis capable of protruding (in proboscis P. - Rhynchobdellidae); numerous salivary glands open into the oral cavity, sometimes secreting a poisonous secret; the pharynx, which plays the role of a pump during sucking, is followed by an extensive, highly extensible stomach, equipped with lateral sacs (up to 11 pairs), of which the posterior ones are the longest; the hindgut is thin and short. Circulatory system partly consists of real, pulsating, vessels, partly from cavities - sinuses, representing the remainder of the cavity (secondary) of the body and interconnected by annular channels; blood in proboscis P. is colorless, in jawed - red due to hemoglobin dissolved in the lymph. Special respiratory organs are available only in the river. Branchellion, in the form of leaf-like appendages on the sides of the body. The excretory organs are arranged according to the type of metanephridia, or segmental organs of annelids, and most P. have a pair of them in each of the middle segments of the body. P. - hermaphrodites: the male genital organs consist of most of the vesicles (testes), a pair in 6-12 middle segments of the body, connected on each side of the body by a common excretory duct; these ducts open outwards with one opening lying on the ventral side of one of the anterior rings of the body; the female genital opening lies one segment behind the male and leads into two separate oviducts with saccular ovaries. Two individuals copulate, each simultaneously playing the role of a female and a male. P. during laying of eggs allocates with glands lying in the genital area, thick mucus surrounding the middle part of P.'s body in the form of a cover; eggs are laid in this sheath, after which P. crawls out of it, and the edges of its holes come together, stick together and thus form a capsule with eggs inside, usually attached to the lower surface of the algae leaf; the embryos, leaving the facial membrane, sometimes (Clepsine) keep for some time on the underside of the mother's body. All P. are predators, feeding on the blood of mostly warm-blooded animals or mollusks, worms, etc.; they live mainly in fresh water or in wet grass, but there are also marine forms (Pontobdella), just like terrestrial forms (in Ceylon). Hirudo medicinalis - medical P. up to 10 cm long and 2 cm wide, black-brown, black-green, with a longitudinal patterned reddish pattern on the back; the belly is light gray, with 5 pairs of eyes on the 3rd, 5th and 8th rings and strong jaws; distributed in the swamps of the South. Europe, South. Russia and the Caucasus. In Mexico, Haementaria officinalis is used in medicine; another species, H. mexicana, is poisonous; V tropical Asia common living in moist forests and in the herb Hirudo ceylonica and other related species, which inflict painful bleeding bites on humans and animals. Aulostomum gul o - horse P., black-green in color, with a lighter bottom, has a weaker armament of the mouth and therefore unsuitable for therapeutic purposes; the most common species in the north. and central Russia. Nephelis vulgaris - a small P. with a thin narrow body, gray color, sometimes with a brown pattern on the back; equipped with 8 eyes located in an arc at the head end of the body; related to her original Archaeobdella Esmonti, pink, without posterior sucker; lives on a silt bottom in the Caspian and Seas of Azov. Clepsine tessel ata - Tatar P., with a wide oval body, greenish-brown in color, with several rows of warts on the back and 6 pairs of triangular eyes, located one after the other; lives in the Caucasus and Crimea, where it is used by the Tatars for medicinal purposes; the transitional place to the order of bristle-legged (Chaetopoda Oligochaeta) worms is occupied by Acanthobdella peledina, found in Lake Onega.

History of medical use

Medical leech ( Hirudo officinalis) - found in the north of Russia, so especially in the south, in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, in Poti, Lankaran. In the 19th century, leeches were a profitable export item: Greeks, Turks, Italians, and others came to the Caucasus for them. In addition, artificial breeding of leeches was carried out in special pools or parks according to the Sale system in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Pyatigorsk and Nizhny Tagil. Based on the laws in force, catching leeches during their breeding season - in May, June and July - is prohibited; when fishing, only those suitable for medical use should be selected, that is, not less than 1 1/2 inches in length; leeches are small, as well as too thick, should be thrown back into the water when catching. To supervise the observance of these rules, the provincial medical departments are entrusted with the duty to testify the stocks of leeches from barbers and other merchants who trade them. Since medicine expelled leeches from use, the leech trade has fallen completely.

Notes

Sources

• Ruppert E.E., Fox R.S., Barnes R.D. Invertebrate zoology. Vol. 2: Lower coelomic animals. M., "Academy", 2008.

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• Kunduz

See what "Leech" is in other dictionaries:

leeches- (Hirudinea), a class of annelids. Length from several mm up to 15 cm, rarely more. Descended from small-bristle worms. The body is usually flattened, rarely cylindrical, with two suckers (oral and posterior); consists of a head blade, 33 rings ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

leeches- LEECHES, a class of worms. Length 0.5-20 cm. Body usually flattened, with 2 suckers. About 400 species live in fresh and marine waters. Most leeches are bloodsuckers, the salivary glands of which secrete the protein substance hirudin, which prevents ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

leeches- class of annelids. Length 0.5-20 cm. They have front and back suction cups. 400 species. In fresh and marine waters. Most leeches are bloodsuckers whose salivary glands secrete hirudin, which prevents blood clotting. Medical leech ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

leeches- (Hirudinei) detachment of the class of annelids. The body is elongated or oval, more or less flattened in the dorsal-abdominal direction, clearly divided into small rings, which in number 3 5 correspond to one segment of the body; Numerous glands in the skin... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron