Leeches are widely known as the kind of animals that suck blood, and there are fresh water, land and sea leeches. From a scientific point of view, it is classified as annelides, which are segmented worms, including the subclass Hirudinea. It is closely related to earthworms, and it is hermaphrodites that have both male and female reproductive organisms.
The bodies of all leeches are divided into the same number of segments, and the same in the same way. They have at each end a powerful clinging sucker. The mouth is in the anterior suction cup, and the anus is on the dorsal surface, which is located directly in front of the posterior sucker. At the mouth of the leech there are 3 jaws, so the leech bite will have a Y-shaped sign.
When leeches bite and feed on blood, there is some kind of mystery from the body of the leech, called hirudin, that will prevent blood from clotting. Hirudin is a substance that provides valuable medical applications. It blows through the skin by exchanging oxygen from the dissolved gases in the water. It tends to move to the surface when the oxygen content of the water is low.
On the surface of the head and body of the leech there is a sensory organ for detecting changes in light intensity, vibration and temperature. It also has chemical receptors on the head for odor detection. He may have one or several pairs of eyes.
Although leeches have male and female genitals, they still need to mate for breeding purposes. This includes the interweaving of bodies, where every sperm sediment in the other clitoris zone. In the clitoris, a hard gelatinous cocoon containing nutrients is secreted, and it is there that the eggs are laid.
Most leeches are sly, they suck the host's blood as food. They can absorb the amount of blood, which is several times more body weight. They can feed on the blood of mammals, frogs, fish and other parasites. When they bite their host, their saliva contains an anticoagulant to keep the blood flowing. The wound will continue to bleed for several hours even after the leeches are separated. The best way to pull a leech out when it bites us is to put some salt or vinegar on it, which will force it to separate immediately. Some people use tobacco leaves to achieve the same goal.
Lick received many medical uses in pharmaceutical or traditional medicine. Since its population receives less money due to the use of insecticides and herbicides, some people begin to push the leech to supply the factories. They have so many benefits that we can get from him, and more research is needed to figure out how this can help us improve our health.
