For the first time the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis has been bred in captivity at London zoo, part of a longer-term project to help this fascinating if unloved creature. Once widespread in ...

After securely attaching to the skin with their sucker, leeches use sharp teeth to make an initial incision. They then secrete a cocktail of anticoagulants and anesthetics. As they suck ...

LEECHES are adapted by their structure and physiology to an ectoparasitic, blood-sucking mode of life. Some have secondarily become predators, but none has obvious adaptations to endoparasitism.

we do know that they possess many teeth, that sit back in their mouth parts – used to chew up their prey after they’ve engulfed it – whole. Lucky for us crew, these leeches don’t drink ...

In this short film Dr Michael Mosley interviews a surgeon who is pioneering the use of leeches in medical research. He allows a leech to attach to his arm and suck his blood, the mouth of the ...

It's a great time of year to meet with the giant Amazonian leech. Its kind is just emerging from the bottom muck, where they dug themselves in to wait out the three-month dry season. They'll be ...