Leech PDF
Preview Leech
Leech Animal Series editor: Jonathan Burt Already published Ant Charlotte Sleigh · ApeJohn Sorenson · Bear Robert E. Bieder Bee Claire Preston · Camel Robert Irwin · Cat Katharine M. Rogers Chicken Annie Potts · Cockroach Marion Copeland · CowHannah Velten Crow Boria Sax · Dog Susan McHugh · Donkey Jill Bough Duck Victoria de Rijke · Eel Richard Schweid · Elephant Daniel Wylie Falcon Helen Macdonald · Fly Steven Connor · Fox Martin Wallen Frog Charlotte Sleigh · GiraffeMark Williams · HareSimon Carnell HorseElaine Walker · HyenaMikita Brottman · KangarooJohn Simons Leech RobertG. W. Kirk and Neil Pemberton · LionDeirdre Jackson Lobster Richard J. King · MooseKevin Jackson · Mosquito Richard Jones Otter Daniel Allen · OwlDesmond Morris · Oyster Rebecca Stott Parrot Paul Carter · Peacock Christine E. Jackson · PenguinStephen Martin PigBrett Mizelle · PigeonBarbara Allen · Rat Jonathan Burt RhinocerosKelly Enright · Salmon Peter Coates · Shark Dean Crawford SnailPeter Williams · Snake Drake Stutesman · Sparrow Kim Todd SpiderKatja and Sergiusz Michalski · SwanPeter Young · Tiger Susie Green Tortoise Peter Young · Trout James Owen · Vulture Thom Van Dooren Whale Joe Roman · WolfGarry Marvin Leech Robert G. W. Kirk and Neil Pemberton reaktion books For leeches, everywhere Published by reaktion books ltd 33Great Sutton Street London ec1v 0dx, uk www.reaktionbooks.co.uk First published 2013 Copyright © Robert G. W. Kirk and Neil Pemberton2013 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. Printed and bound in China by C&C Offset Printing Co., Ltd British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Kirk, Robert G. W. Leech. –(Animal) 1. Leeches. 2.Leeches –Therapeutic use. i. Title ii. Series iii. Pemberton, Neil. 592.6'6-dc23 isbn 978 1 78023 033 7 Contents Introducing Leech 7 1 Natural Leech 16 2 Medical Leech 46 3 Capitalist Leech 73 4 Mechanical Leech 100 5 Wild Leech 115 6 Horror Leech 135 7 Biomedical Leech 151 Concluding Leech 176 Timeline of the Leech 184 References 186 Select Bibliography 198 Associations and Websites 201 Acknowledgements 202 Photo Acknowledgements 204 Index 205 Introducing Leech ‘For the sake of the leech I lay here by this swamp like a fisherman, and my outstretched arm had already been bitten ten times when a still fairer leech came after my blood: . . . the great conscience-leech, Zarathustra!’ . . . ‘Who are you?’ he asked . . . ‘I am the conscientious in spirit,’ answered the one who had been asked . . . ‘Rather know nothing than half-know many things! Better be a fool on one’s own account than a wise man in the opinion of others! I get to the ground of things – what does it matter whether it be great or small? Whether it be called swamp or Heaven? A handsbreadth of ground suffices for me . . . In the right science of conscience there is nothing great and nothing small.’ ‘Then perhaps you are the connoisseur of the leech?’ asked Zarathustra. ‘And you pursue the leech down to the ultimate grounds, you conscientious one?’ ‘O Zarathustra,’ answered the one stepped on, ‘that would be something immense: how could I understand such a thing! But what I am master and connoisseur of, that is the leech’s brain: that is my world!’ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra(1883–5) In this book we want to achieve something immense, to intro- duce you to the leech. By its end we hope you will have become a connoisseur not just of the biology and brain of the leech but of its world. A world, we argue, that has always already been our own. A horror and a healer, the leech is one of nature’s most tenacious yet mysterious animals. Possessing an unassailable hold on the human body and on culture, few animals feature so unexpectedly yet consistently in human history. Armed with razor-sharp teeth, a muscular body and possessing a piercing bite, leeches are capable of drinking many times their weight in blood. One might think this would make them a most unlikely 7 animal to turn to in times of ill health; yet this is precisely what human cultures all over the world have been doing for millennia. Indeed, leeches may justifiably claim to be one of humanity’s old- est and most enduring, albeit peculiar, companions. In many ways leeches can be a very difficult animal to get to know. Leeches are worms, and as such are as different to us as an animal can be. Distinguishing the head of a leech from its tail can be a challenge, and even when the head is found it is not easy to recognize a face as conventionally imagined. Although pre- ferring aquatic environments, leeches can be found in a vast diversity of habitats. Though most are exclusively blood-feeders, some species of leech consume the flesh of small animals, par- ticularly invertebrates. Humans have lived intimately with leeches throughout recorded history, yet the private life of this creature has remained mysterious. For every occasion in which we have lived, worked and cared for leeches, there have been parallel moments when they have inspired disgust, fear and repugnance. In the entangled history of human and leech, we have repeatedly accepted and rejected, partnered and separated, loved and loathed each other, each generation thinking the relationship to be new and forgetting that our predecessors have been through it all before. What a human story. Or is it a leech story? Perhaps we should suspend, for a moment, a strong distinction between the two. There are estimated to be over 650 leech species and still more to be discovered. But what is a leech? In general terms, a worm. More specifically, a segmented worm or ‘annelid’. Leeches are identified by their possession of suckers, one at each end of their wormy bodies. Whilst the unique biology of leech species is interesting in itself, it becomes yet more fascinating when under- stood alongside the distinctive cultural roles leeches have played in human societies over time. Our biology shapes but does not 8
The list of books you might like
