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medicinal leech
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medicinal leech
medicinal leech Medicinal leech (Hirudo verbana).

medicinal leech

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François-Joseph-Victor Broussais

medicinal leech, any of certain leech species (phylum Annelida), particularly Hirudo medicinalis, H. verbana, and H. orientalis, once used in the treatment of human diseases and used at present as a source of anticoagulants following certain surgical procedures. See leeching.

This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.