Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms of the subclass Hirudinea in the phylum Annelida. Like earthworms, they have soft, muscular, segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract, but the coelom, the body cavity that can be spacious in other annelids, is reduced to small channels, and they typically have suckers at both ends. Most leeches live in freshwater habitats, though some species can be found in terrestrial and marine environments. A minority of leech species prey on small invertebrates, but most are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood. They were used in medicine from ancient times until the 19th century to draw blood from patients. In modern times, leeches have been used in microsurgery and in the treatment of extremity vein diseases and joint diseases such as epicondylitis and osteoarthritis. Hirudin, an anticoagulant drug they secrete, has been used to treat blood-clotting disorders.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leech
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1520:
The islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (modern city of Saint- Pierre pictured) near Canada were visited by Portuguese explorer João Álvares Fagundes, who named them after the 11,000 Virgins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon
1854:
Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses and 15 nuns were sent to the Ottoman Empire to help treat wounded British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale
1978:
After reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft, Australian pilot Frederick Valentich disappeared while piloting a Cessna 182L across the Bass Strait to King Island. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Frederick_Valentich
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
smell you later: (humorous, informal) See you later; goodbye. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smell_you_later
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I pass, like night, from land to land; I have strange power of speech; That moment that his face I see, I know the man that must hear me: To him my tale I teach. --The Rime of the Ancient Mariner https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner