Medicinal leech - Hirudo medicinalis

The medicinal leech and the leech therapy is a thousands of years old well known medical treatment. The medicinal leech is assigned with problem definitions such as cramp veins, vein deseases, arthrosis or tinnitus. One already finds the first recordings over the use of the medicinal leech for the leech therapy in the 2ten century before Christi from the Greek Nikander von Kolophon, who used the leech and the leech therapy particularly for the treatment of poisoned snake bites.

In the modern medicin the medicinal leech and the leech therapy experiencies nowadays again renaissance in its use for different diseases.

Apart from the classical areas for the medicinal leech ffor the leech therapy such as cramp veins, vein deseases, arthrosis, tinitus today the leech therapy is used also in the modern reconstructiv and plastic surgery. Here the medicinal leech helps to improve a venous conguestion in case of e.g.reimplanting a lost finger through an accidant.