carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage
bleed: draw blood; "In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment"
The leeches are annelids comprising the subclass Hirudinea. There are freshwater, terrestrial and marine leeches. Like their near relatives, the Oligochaeta, they share the presence of a clitellum. Many species of leech are haemophagic parasites, living on occasional meals of blood obtained by attaching themselves to fish, amphibians (frogs etc.), and mammals. The medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, which is native to Europe, has been used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years. ...
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