The same result has followed from keeping together different varieties of the
medicinal leech. It may even be doubted whether the varieties of any one of our domestic plants or animals have so exactly the same strength, habits, and constitution, that the original proportions of a mixed stock could be kept up for half a dozen generations, if they were allowed to struggle together, like beings in a state of nature, and if the seed or young were not annually sorted.
And Dr Sawyer, who led an expedition into the heart of the Amazon jungle to find a rare species of
medicinal leech to establish Biopharm, says many more uses will be found for substances naturally produced by the creatures.
LEECH Used by doctors in the 18th and 19th centuries for blood letting, the
medicinal leech is now rare in the UK,surviving in only 20 lakes -four of which are on Anglesey.
The leech farm was created by former University of Wales, Swansea scientist Dr Roy Sawyer, who led an expedition into the Amazonian jungle to find rare
medicinal leech specimens.
Although these blood-sucking parasites are no longer used as a cure-all, the
medicinal leech now plays a key role in UK burns units and reconstructive specialist hospitals.
HELP is on the way for the brown hare, red squirrel, grey partridge, great-crested newt,
medicinal leech, wild asparagus and fen orchid.
Miriam was merely expressing her displeasure at the
medicinal leech that was gorging merrily on the varicose veins in her right calf.
Roy Sawyer, the American zoologist who founded Biopharm, likes to call the
medicinal leech a "living pharmacy".
"When you do it the first time, you think, 'My God, leeches!'" Kalinicheva said."But after you go through it, you understand there is nothing to worry about." In Russia, a
medicinal leech costs less than $1, and a typical application requires three to seven of the ravenous little creatures.
Pan ddwedodd Emyr Humphreys (llun ar y dde) o Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru wrtha i fod 'na gelod (Hirundo medicinalis; European
medicinal leech) yng Nghors Bodeilio ac y basa fo'n fodlon dangos i mi ble roedden nhw, roeddwn i'n gobeithio yn fy nghalon nad oedd o'n disgwyl i mi gerdded yn droednoeth i byllau yn y gors yn nhymor yr hydref!
Another big blood sucker is Macrobdella decora, the American
medicinal leech, replete with olive green back and gaudy orange belly.
medicinal leech - large European freshwater leech formerly used for bloodletting