Leech facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leech Temporal range: Silurian – recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Hirudo medicinalis sucking blood
Helobdella sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Annelida
Class:	Clitellata
Subclass:	Hirudinea Lamarck, 1818
Infraclasses
Acanthobdellidea Euhirudinea

Leeches are annelids, a kind of worm (ground creature) that lives in wet places. All leeches are carnivorous, that is, they eat mainly meat, but some are also haemophagic; this means they drink the blood of other animals. They are sometimes helpful in medicine. They are often used to reduce blood clots. They were used to suck the blood of patients a long time ago, before we knew about germs and that losing blood is bad for health.

• Sawyer, Roy T. 1986. Leech Biology and Behaviour. Vol 1-2. Clarendon Press, Oxford

Images for kids

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  Haemadipsa zeylanica, a terrestrial leech

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  Placobdelloides siamensis, a parasite of turtles in Thailand. The ventral face (right) shows many young leeches.

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  Fossil of a possible leech from the Silurian of Wisconsin

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  Leech bites on a cow's udder

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  Leech attacking a slug

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  Leeches can be removed by hand, since they do not burrow into the skin or leave the head in the wound.

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  Leeches move by looping using their front and back suckers.

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  "Leech finders" from The Costume of Yorkshire by George Walker, 1814, engraved by Robert Havell

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  Pharmacy leech jar with airholes in the lid. England, 1830–1870.

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  Three leech doctors decide on bloodletting for their grasshopper patient. Lithograph by F.-J.-V. Broussais from a cartoon by J. J. Grandville, c. 1832

See also

In Spanish: Hirudinea para niños