Cage for transporting leeches, Europe, 1801-1900
Leeches were used in bloodletting – a practice once carried out to treat a wide range of diseases and medical conditions. This cage would have been used to transport leeches to where they were needed. Leeches are a type of worm with suckers at both ends of the body, although only the frontal sucker, which has teeth, is used to feed. Once attached to a living body, they feed on blood. Leeches normally live in freshwater and collecting them from river beds was traditionally a female occupation. Leeches are used today following plastic and reconstructive surgery as they help restore blood flow and circulation.
Object number:
A600125
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Glossary:
Glossary: leech cage
No description.
Glossary: leech
A type of worm that possesses suckers at both ends of its body. Formerly widely used for letting blood, the medicinal leech may now be used following microsurgery to encourage the growth of new capillaries. Leeches are found in tropical forests, grasslands and in water.
Glossary: bloodletting
Puncturing a vein in order to withdraw blood. A popular medical practice for over two thousand years. Bloodletting often involved withdrawing large quantities of blood in the belief that this would cure or prevent many illnesses and diseases. The practice has been abandoned for all but a few very specific conditions.