As we tidy away the Dracula capes and glow-in-the-dark plastic fangs for another winter, one notorious blood sucker has had a particularly good year. For the first time the medicinal leech Hirudo ...

In the ancient times, there were various bizarre practices that were dominating the medical world. One such practice was that of using leeches to suck patients’ blood to cure their diseases. This ...

BALTIMORE - Marc Miller survived a motorcycle crash in October near his Baltimore County, Md., home, but his foot had been dragged along the pavement and badly damaged. That injury would require both ...

Andrew Plucinski’s leeches are picky about skin. When offered the chance to bite a person who bathes in smelly soap they recoil, even when they’re hungry. Leeches prefer their humans unseasoned. In ...

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a safe and inexpensive device for reliable blood measurements. It works using a suction cup and could also be employed to diagnose the tropical disease malaria ...

Using leeches to suck the blood out of a person might sound medieval, but it’s actually a medicinal practice still used today at many trauma hospitals. Though only used in a handful of cases, the ...

The mechanical leech comprises a glass vacuum chamber with tubes for suction and irrigating a wound site. Glass beaker on right contains a live medical leech. Photo courtesy of Jeff Miller. Once ...

Brigham and Women's nurses postponed the Oct. 14 strike to vote on a final offer. See the pay, insurance, and staffing terms, and what patients face. Nearly 1 Million HealthCare.gov Enrollees in 30 ...

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts. Russell has ...

WASHINGTON -- The government has lent its seal of approval to marketing an age-old medical device -- leeches. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that Ricarimpex SAS, a French firm, is the ...

Medicinal leeches deploy a sophisticated cocktail of salivary proteins to override host haemostasis during blood feeding. Central to this arsenal is hirudin, a small acidic polypeptide that binds with ...