Roman medical tech

[A_Volpe]

Dunno if this had been discussed in the past, but my most recent program at Higgins gave me a good question from a very enthusiastic young girl regarding the use of Leeches...Is there any evidence of Romans using Leeches?

[Antonius Lucretius]

"The practice of leeching has intrigued collectors for the last hundred years. Leeching, while practiced to an extent by the Romans and the Greeks, was a matter-of-fact way of life during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Leeches could remove blood from very confined and restricted areas such as the eyes, the trachea and bodily cavities by attaching themselves to the skin with a small suction cup, then puncturing the flesh with sharp teeth and injecting an anticoagulant venom into the vein to keep the blood flowing. Hospitals and physicians housed literally thousands of leeches for use in bloodletting."

I found these quotes there:

[url:2toyqote]http://www.rauantiques.com/Articles.asp?ArticleID=4[/url]

I think I remember Virgil's Eneid talking about leeching as well, when Aeneas is wounded.

[A_Volpe]

aaah! great, many thanks!