Leech Essay

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TITLE Hirudo Therapy on Sinusitis Patients in Perak. 2.0 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND The common name for any of the annelids (segmented worms) is leech, comprising the subclass (or class) Hirudinea. They have a small sucker on the anterior (mouth) end of the cylindrical or somewhat dorso-ventrally flattened body, and a larger sucker on the posterior end.1 Leeches are generally aquatic and live in freshwater environments, but there also are terrestrial and marine species. Most leeches are predatory. They feed on a variety of invertebrates, such as worms, snails, insect larvae, and crustaceans. However, some are parasitic blood-sucking leeches, feeding on the blood of vertebrates, such as amphibians, reptiles, waterfowl, fish, and mammals (including humans), as well as mollusks. In addition, some leeches are detritivores, that feeds on dead and decomposing organic matter.2. Hemophagic leeches (feeding on blood) attach to their hosts and remain there until they become full, at which point they fall off to digest. They all have an anterior (oral) sucker formed from the first six segments of their body, which is used to connect to a host for feeding, and can also release an anesthetic to prevent the host from noticing the leech. They use a combination of mucus and suction (caused by concentric muscles in those six segments) to stay attached and secrete an anti-clotting enzyme into the host's blood stream.3. Leeches provide values to the ecosystem and to humans. Ecologically, they are important in forest and stream food chains, serving as both predator and prey according to the life cycle. Among the predators of leeches are fish, crayfish, turtles, birds, frogs, and even dragonflies and damselflies.4. For humans, the hemophagic leeches can be used medically, for example, in controlling swelling, as it produces chemicals, that is

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