Animals: Leeches are still used in medicine. They are used after…

Question

Did you know? Leeches are still used in medicine. They are used after surgical operations (especially microsurgery of fingers/ears) to reduce blood pooling. They produce a natural blood thinner (hirudin) that is also made synthetically as a drug. The FDA approved medical leeches in 2004 as a "medical device".

Accepted Answer

Leeches are still used in medicine. They are used after surgical operations (especially microsurgery of fingers/ears) to reduce blood pooling. They produce a natural blood thinner (hirudin) that is also made synthetically as a drug. The FDA approved medical leeches in 2004 as a "medical device".

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