WEBVTT - What is a medical leech?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff from dot com where smart happens. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a new show on Discovery Channel called Monsters Inside Me,

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<v Speaker 1>and it fits perfectly with today's question. What is a

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<v Speaker 1>medical leech? You may have never seen a leech before.

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<v Speaker 1>They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but

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<v Speaker 1>medical leeches look a lot like a long slug about

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<v Speaker 1>the size of your finger. They have a mouth at

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<v Speaker 1>the second end that attaches quite firmly, and the leech

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<v Speaker 1>will about double in size as it feeds. This sounds

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<v Speaker 1>rather unpleasant, but leeches turn out to be useful in medicine.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've ever had microsurgery on an extremity like a

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<v Speaker 1>finger or an ear lobe, one post surgery problem you

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<v Speaker 1>get involves blood flow. By attaching a leech, a patient

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<v Speaker 1>gets several benefits. For one, the leech pulls blood through

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<v Speaker 1>the extremity as it feeds. For another, it injects a

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<v Speaker 1>helpful anticoagulant that improves blood flow. And because of the

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<v Speaker 1>whole and that anticoagulant the leech leaves behind, there will

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<v Speaker 1>be bleeding after the leech falls off, and it's also

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<v Speaker 1>helpful to healing. Medical leeches are raised in captivity, so

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<v Speaker 1>they're sterile to a certain degree. If you want to

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<v Speaker 1>buy one, you can go find them on the internet

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<v Speaker 1>for about seven bucks each. Leeches are not the only

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<v Speaker 1>medically useful parasite. You can also buy medical maggots. These

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<v Speaker 1>little worm like creatures are put into bad wounds to

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<v Speaker 1>clean them out. The maggots will eat dead flesh, but

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<v Speaker 1>leave living flesh alone. After a day or two, the

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<v Speaker 1>wound is cleared of all the dead flesh and healing

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<v Speaker 1>usually proceeds much more quickly. If you enjoy parasites like leeches,

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<v Speaker 1>be sure to check out Monsters Inside Me on the

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<v Speaker 1>Discovery Channel Wednesdays at nine pm. Do you have any

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<v Speaker 1>ideas or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at podcast at how stuff works dot com.

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