Used Leeches example essay topic
408 words
Leeches The leech is a segmented worm that in all actuality has a very vivid life. From being used by doctors to just being blood-sucking parasites, the leech is a true wonder of the mind. The leech has a series of ring-like segments that make up its body structure. They maybe from 2 to 20 centimeters long and have the ability to shorten or lengthen their bodies. They mostly come in colors of black, red or brown, sometimes with stripes or spots. They are extremely sensitive to touch, temperature, and drying out. Also, they have clusters of cells on the front end that are light-sensitive, almost like eyes. Leeches usually live in dark, damp areas such as the bottoms of lakes, jung els, or shallow streams. Finally, the leech is a Hermaphrodite, containing bot male and female sexual reproductive organs. With a sucker at both ends of it's body, the leech usually lives as a parasite, feeding upon the blood and tissue of other animals, or on decaying plant and animal materials. It has a mouth centered on the front sucker with teeth in some cases.
Leeches, that are parasites, attach to their victim with the front sucker, create a wound, then suck out blood with, usually, both suckers. Blood-sucking leeches give out a liquid substance called Hirudin. This chemical prevents the blood from thickening and enables the blood to be easily sucked by the leech. Doctors once used leeches, or what they called medicinal leeches, to remove blood from patients in an orderly manner. The first clinical use of leeches in this fashion occurred approximately 2,500 years ago. Since the leeches bite produces a small wound, that mimics a venous circulation in an area of compromised tissue, the leech is particularly valuable for reconstruction surgery.
Special properties of the bite, such as the chemical hirudin, allow continued bleeding for up to 48 hours after the leech has been detached, which is a good thing in many medical procedures. As we can see the leech seems to live two lives in one. One being a simple, little, parasitical live and another being a great tool in the medical field. So the next time you hear or see anything about this animal, just remember that in its simple life it fulfills a great role in the age of medicine.
