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Pontobdella muricata is a long, cylindrical, somewhat flattened leech, narrowing at both ends. It has a number of annulations, which do not correspond to its internal segmentation, and is one of the largest sea leeches, with a length up to 10 cm (4 in) long when at rest, and double that length when stretched. [2]
[4] [5] Among Euhirudinea, the true leeches, the smallest is about 1 cm (1 ⁄ 2 in) long, and the largest is the giant Amazonian leech, Haementeria ghilianii, which can reach 30 cm (12 in). Except for Antarctica, [ 4 ] leeches are found throughout the world but are at their most abundant in temperate lakes and ponds in the northern hemisphere.
During a blood meal, a leech rhythmically contracts its muscles to draw blood from a host animal into the crop for storage. It can consume over five times its own weight in blood in one feeding. Once satiated, a leech detaches from its host. Hirudo verbana uses anticoagulants when it feeds, so its bite wounds continue bleeding for some time ...
Unlike jawed leeches who use rows of teeth to puncture skin, Haementeria ghilianii uses a 10 centimetres (3.9 in) hypodermic needle-like proboscis to feed. Bites are kept open by the fibrinogenolytic (breaks up fibrinogen ) enzyme hementin , which is secreted from the proboscis' lumen; secretion is neurologically controlled.
In horses, subcutaneous pythiosis is the most common form and infection occurs through a wound while standing in water containing the pathogen. [2] The disease is also known as leeches, swamp cancer, and bursatti. Lesions are most commonly found on the lower limbs, abdomen, chest, and genitals.
The ICD-10 Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) is a set of diagnosis codes used in the United States of America. [1] It was developed by a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, [ 2 ] as an adaption of the ICD-10 with authorization from the World Health Organization .
Aeromonas species are endosymbionts of Hirudo medicinalis, a species of leech that is FDA-approved for use in vascular surgery such as skin grafts and flaps. [8] [9] Aeromonas aides leeches in digesting blood meals. [10] H. medicinalis used after surgery has led to Aeromonas infections, most commonly with A. veronii. [8]
Erpobdella obscura is a freshwater ribbon leech common in North America. It is a relatively large leech and is commonly used as bait by anglers for walleye and other sport fish. In Minnesota , live bait dealers annually harvest over 45,000 kg of bait-leeches, raising concerns of over-harvest.