The basic introduction of leech Another name of leech is "leech", which is mainly distributed in fresh water areas. Because of its high medicinal value, it is produced and cultivated in many places in China. Leeches are somewhat similar to willow leaves, oblate and 2~ 12cm long. There are also some huge species with suckers at the front of their heads and rings on their bodies, which belong to cold-blooded annelids. Wild leeches feed on animal blood and body fluids, while cultured leeches feed on animal viscera feed, miscellaneous fish and earthworms.
Leeches are widely distributed, covering almost all lakes and rivers in China, and leeches are found in the waters of Northeast China, North China, Central China and South China.
Leeches are parasitic in the main parts of the human body. Leeches parasitize the human body in a special way. They are not parasitic in human body through eggs or larvae like Taenia solium, but directly parasitic by adults. Parasitic behavior mostly occurs when people drink or are in "natural water". Take "oral nasopharynx" as an example. Most of them are in the process of drinking "natural water", leeches take the opportunity to get in, and then use the sucker in the head to adsorb on the mucosa and suck human blood.
After the human body is parasitized by leeches, it doesn't feel particularly great at first, but with the growth of leeches, it will feel foreign body sensation in the parasitic parts and bleeding will also occur. The most common parasitic parts are nose and throat. When you go to the hospital for medical treatment, you will use tweezers, anesthesia and negative pressure suction equipment to take out the leeches.
Why not take out the "live leech" after eating it in the stomach? You should know that leeches are cold-blooded annelids, and they also need to breathe and have water. However, unlike other species, leeches breathe through wet body walls. Leech can breathe through the body wall when it is in water or parasitized on the mouth, nose, throat and other human parts, which is one of the reasons why leech can live by parasitizing on human body.
But the human stomach is different. People's respiratory system and eating system are separate. People breathe through the mouth, nose, pharynx and other parts to inhale or exhale gas, and the mucosa secretes some body fluids. However, people's esophagus, stomach and intestines don't have so much oxygen for leeches to breathe, which belongs to acid-base environment and secretes some highly corrosive digestive juice. Once leeches enter human stomach or intestine, they will be corroded, dissolved and destroyed by digestive juice. So whether it's a live leech or a dead leech, you don't need to take it out when you eat it.
Conclusion: Leech has high medicinal value. In early years, humans did not abuse pesticides, and leeches were found in many natural waters, but in recent years, wild leeches have become very rare. Most leeches rely on artificial breeding, and few leeches parasitize the human body. Most leeches can only live in the mouth, nose and throat of human body, because these organs can provide a living environment for leeches, but if they enter the stomach or intestines, they cannot survive.