medicinal leech
Therapeutic parasitic worm
A medicinal leech is a blood-sucking aquatic worm used in medical treatment.
Leeches were once applied to patients for bloodletting, based on the now-discredited theory that illness resulted from excess blood.
Modern medicine has revived their use in microsurgery, where leeches help restore blood flow to reattached tissue by draining congested blood vessels.
- bloodlettingTherapeutic withdrawal of fluid
- annelidSegmented worm phylum member
- bloodsuckerOrganism feeding on plasma
- parasiteOne exploiting a host
- phlebotomyExtracting blood medically
sucker · segmented · slimy · pond · fresh water · swamp · wriggling · attachment · anticoagulant · blood thinning · therapy · medieval · barber-surgeon · bite · wound · blood · healing · plastic surgery
medicinal leechsurgical robot
Machine performing medical procedures
robotic surgery · gene therapy · nanomedicine · synthetic drug · scalpel
medicinal leechblood transfusion
Infusing donated cells intravenously
coagulant · styptic · thrombin · blood donation · hemostatic
medicinal leechprobiotic
Healthful live microorganism supplement
beneficial bacteria · donor organ · bone marrow donor · blood donor
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