Sucking Saves Lives - The Bloodcurdling Story of Medical Leeches

For thousands of years, humanity’s favorite medical cure-all was a squirming, blood-sucking worm. Long before modern medicine gave us antibiotics, vaccines, or targeted therapies, doctors faced with everything from fevers and headaches to systemic infections reached for one trusted tool: Hirudo medicinalis, the medicinal leech. In this episode of Dirt Nap City, we dive into the murky waters of history’s most infamous parasite-turned-physician. We explore the ancient practice of bloodletting a...