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Hirudo
A genus of leeches, of which several species had been previously used in medicine. The practice of leeches has been complicated by wound infections, myonecrosis & sepsis from Aeromonas hydrophilia which colonizes the gut of commercially available leeches.
Specific
Hirudo australis (Australian leech)
Hirudo decora (American leech)
Hirudo interupta (Hirudo troctina)
Hirudo medicinalis (speckled, Swedish or German leech)
Hirudo provincialis (green or Hungarian leech)
Hirudo quinquestriata (five-striped leech)
General
Gnathobdellidae (includes Hiruda [medicinal leeches])
Properties
KINGDOM: animal
PHYLUM: arthropod
ORGANISM-CLASS: Hirudinea (leeches)
FAMILY: Gnathobdellidae
GENUS: Hirudo
References
Stedman's Medical Dictionary 27th ed, Williams &
Wilkins, Baltimore, 1999