Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Beyond Bloodletting: Fda Gives Leeches A Medical Makeover, Carol Rados

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

In June 2004, the Food and Drug Administration cleared the first application for leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) to be used in modern medicine as medical devices. By definition, a medical device is an article intended to diagnose, cure, treat, prevent, or mitigate a disease or condition, or to affect a function or structure of the body, that does not achieve its primary effect through a chemical action and is not metabolized.