'What a wonderful creature': The rise, and fall, and rise again of leeches in medicine

Near the farming town of Echuca, on the border of Victoria and New South Wales, Brian breeds leeches for medical use.

These days, the parasites are used to help with things like reconstructive surgery and microsurgery, where they work to restore blood flow and prevent blood clots.

But they were once used like aspirin — and were even thought to be a treatment for obesity.

In fact, leeches were so widely used in medicine that at one point, Australia was exporting them to other countries where they were being driven to extinction.

Read More

Article from ABC Science