leech

Also known as leeches, Hirudinea

Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid; the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced

AI overview

Leeches are segmented worms that feed on the blood or body fluids of other animals, featuring distinctive suckers at both ends of their soft, muscular bodies. They matter because they are closely related to earthworms and represent an important group within the broader family of segmented worms, with unique adaptations that distinguish them from their relatives.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Species

hirudineans

Subclass

PhylumAnnelida
ClassClitellata

Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater

维基百科中的醫療相关内容仅供参考，詳見醫學聲明。如需专业意见请咨询专业人士。蚂蟥，又稱水蛭，是环节动物门環帶纲的一类动物，雌雄同体。和其他同為環帶綱的寡毛類（如蚯蚓）相比，蚂蟥体外无毛，而且体腔的结缔组织更密集，因此身体更结实。被发现的蚂蟥约700种，约100种生活在海洋中，约70种生活在陆地，余下都生活在淡水环境。一般人的刻板印象中總認為蚂蟥都是吸血动物，但其實並非所有的螞蟥都吸血。整體而言螞蟥屬於肉食性，許多種類行自由生活以捕食小型無脊椎動物為生，只有部份種類行暫時性寄生，以各種宿主的體液為食，其中也有以哺乳類血液為食的螞蟥，但並不佔多數。，螞蟥最重要的特徵是头尾各有一个吸盘，而且尾吸盤比口吸盤大而明顯。螞蟥可以分成「有吻蛭」和「無吻蛭」兩類群，有吻蛭顧名思義，即咽部有肌肉質的口器稱為吻部，可從口中伸出刺入宿主體內吸血，至於無吻蛭則沒有吻部，許多無吻蛭是利用口中三片的半圓形顎切開宿主皮膚，但也有僅具兩片顎或一片顎的種類，甚至也有口中無顎、僅能依賴強健咽部肌肉將獵物吸住並且吞食的種類。許多人認為螞蟥吸血時會释放麻醉剂，因此不易被宿主察觉，但實際上研究中從未在任何螞蟥的唾液中找到具有麻醉效果的成份。螞蟥一次的吸血量非常大，為其体重的2—10倍。能耐饥饿。在野外草地中，蚂蟥有時會被誤認為蛞蝓。过去蚂蟥曾用于医疗，其唾液中有血管擴張劑和各種防止血液凝固的抗凝血因子，部分程度減低因血液積聚所引起的高血壓。在西方使用蚂蟥进行放血疗法可以追溯到古希腊时期，并沿用到19世纪直至被证明为伪科学。现在已经很少用蚂蟥做这种用途，但在整型手术或斷肢接合手術中仍有使用，尤其在2004年美國FDA將醫用水蛭列為醫材之後，以特定種類的吸血螞蟥來處理整型手術和斷肢接合後的靜脈淤積已有大量病例證實其功效。在德国被作为一种替代疗法用来治疗骨关节炎。

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Research

7,975 papers

Leech Therapy Following Digital Replantation and Revascularization.ReviewThe Journal of hand surgery · 2020Pickrell BB, Daly MC, Freniere B et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2020.03.026
Leech therapy.ReviewThe American journal of nursing · 2009Yantis MA, O'Toole KN, Ring PDOI: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000348601.01489.77
Therapeutic Potentials of Medicinal Leech in Chinese Medicine.ReviewThe American journal of Chinese medicine · 2024Wu S, Zhou Y, Wang Y et al.DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X24500423
Medicinal leech therapy in pain syndromes: a narrative review.ReviewWiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2014Koeppen D, Aurich M, Rampp TDOI: 10.1007/s10354-013-0236-y
Regionalization and segmentation of the leech.ReviewJournal of neurobiology · 1995Wedeen CJDOI: 10.1002/neu.480270303
Leech therapy in flap salvage: Systematic review and practical recommendations.Annales de chirurgie plastique et esthetique · 2017Herlin C, Bertheuil N, Bekara F et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.anplas.2016.06.004
The return of the leech.ReviewInternational journal of clinical practice · 2003Abdelgabar AM, Bhowmick BK
Leech Therapy for Complex Facial Lacerations.The Journal of craniofacial surgery · 2021Cohn JE, Othman S, Evarts M et al.DOI: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000007111

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Wikidata facts

Image: Leech-china.JPG

Show 4 more facts

Commons category: Leeches
taxon name: Hirudinea
Commons gallery: Hirudinea
taxon common name: pijavke

Sources (5)

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~26 min read

Article

16 sections

Contents

Diversity and phylogeny
Evolution
Anatomy and physiology
Reproduction and development
Feeding and digestion
Nervous system
Gas exchange
Movement
Interactions with humans
Bites
Medical use
Water pollution
Notes
References
General bibliography
External links

The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates.