Armed with razor-sharp teeth and capable of drinking many times its volume of blood, the leech is an unlikely cure for ill health. Yet that is exactly the role this worm-like parasite has played in both Western and Eastern medicine throughout history. In this book, Robert G. W. Kirk and Neil Pemberton explore how the leech surfaces in radically different spheres. The ancients used them in humeral medicine to bring the four humors of the body—blood, phlegm, and black and yellow bile—back into balance. Today, leeches are used in plastic and reconstructive surgery to help reattach severed limbs and remove pools of blood before it kills tissue. Leeches have also been used in a nineteenth-century meteorological barometer and a twentieth-century biomedical tool that helped win a Nobel Prize. Kirk and Pemberton also reveal the dark side of leeches as they are portrayed in fiction, film, and popular culture. From Bram Stoker’s Dracula to a video game player’s nemesis, the leech is used to represent the fears of science run amok. Leech shines new light on one of humanity’s most enduring and unlikely companions.

William Makepeace Thackeray's "John Lecch's Pictures of Life and Characters" focuses around his opinions of the works of English caricaturist and illustrator, John Leech (29 August 1817 - 29 October 1864).

Describes the different species of leeches, their physical characteristics, behavior, and life cycle.

Many different kinds of animals have adopted a parasitic life style on the skin and gills of marine and freshwater fishes, including protozoans, flatworms, leeches, a range of crustaceans and even some vertebrates (lampreys). There is a parasitic barnacle, described first in the 19th century by Charles Darwin, fish lice that change sex and bivalve molluscs parasitic only when young. This book explores for the first time in one volume, the remarkable biology of these little known and frequently bizarre animals. The following closely interwoven themes are considered for each group of parasites: how they find their hosts, how they attach, feed and reproduce, the damage they inflict and how the host’s immune system retaliates. Based on the British fauna, but extending where appropriate to examples from North America, Australia and elsewhere, the book is essential reading, not just for the professional parasitologist, but also for anyone interested in fishes and in this neglected field of British natural history. With the enquiring naturalist in mind, terms and concepts are explained as they arise, backed up by a glossary, and the text is liberally illustrated. An introductory chapter on fish biology sets the scene and common fish names are used throughout, as well as scientific names.

A look at the life cycle and behavior of leeches.

Describes the physical characteristics, habitat, and types of worms, including leeches, earthworms, and tapeworms.

Leeches (Hirudinea): Their Structure, Physiology, Ecology and Embryology presents a concise account of the vast knowledge, particularly in the realm of physiology of the Hirudinea. The text provides the various aspects of the life of leeches (Hirudenea). The first three chapters are devoted to the survey of the different families of leeches and the description of Hirudo medicinalis (Medicinal leech). The physiological aspects of leeches such as its circulatory and respiratory systems, muscles, nerves, sense organs, and reproductive processes are elaborated in detail in subsequent chapters. Leech nutrition, behavior, locomotion, and the ways in which the distribution and abundance of leeches is affected by factors of the environment, both living and non-living are elucidated as well. Zoologists will find the book very useful and informative.

The contents of this book originally appeared as columns in The Huntsville Item, in Huntsville, Texas. Here is a sampling of the comments the columns generated: "I laughed myself silly over Latin and German as applied to Sir Isaac Newton. Am sending a copy to my brother-in law " J.S. "I laughed so loud my wife came in from the next room to see what was the matter." B.L. "That may be the funniest thing I've ever read." K.R. "I loved your limericks. I laughed till I cried." G.N. "Your column today was especially funny. I laughed so hard, I almost barfed!" N. W. "While Mary and I have not had the pleasure of meeting either of you, we just wanted to send a note to say how much we look forward to Mr. Ramon's article every Sunday. His article alone is worth the price of admission. We mail his message to various friends of ours (some in Qatar) who just go ballistic. Today's was a classic!!!!!" M.C. (A letter to the publisher of The Huntsville Item). "The Greeting from Frankfurt was hilarious!!! I have tears rolling down my face. Springtime in Vienna was just as hilarious." S.S.B.

There are over 650 different types of leeches. And most want to suck your blood! These real-life vampires are nocturnal, like dark places, and only come out when they get thirsty! But can these bloodsuckers actually help humans? The ancient Egyptians may have been on to something! Readers learn about the habitats, history, and medical uses of the bloodsucking leech. Full-color photographs offer an up close view of these thirsty worms, and fact boxes share more details about their fascinating lives.