Medicinal leech
Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758
The medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) is a worm in the family Hirudinidae, part of the order Arhynchobdellida and the class Clitellata. It belongs to the phylum Annelida and was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Quick facts about the medicinal leech
The medicinal leech is listed as Near Threatened in the global IUCN Red List assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 20 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the medicinal leech
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
_at_the_California_Academy_of_Sciences_01.jpg){kind=link}
_at_the_California_Academy_of_Sciences_02.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the medicinal leech live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the medicinal leech as introduced in 2 countries.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the medicinal leech?
Hirudo medicinalis, or the European medicinal leech, is one of several species of leeches used as medicinal leeches.
Other species of Hirudo sometimes also used as medicinal leeches include H. orientalis, H. troctina, and H. verbana. The Asian medicinal leech includes Hirudinaria manillensis, and the North American medicinal leech is Macrobdella decora.
Medicinal leech populations were reduced significantly in many countries during the 19th century due to the high demand in medical contexts, and remain endangered in many countries today.
From the Wikipedia article “Hirudo medicinalis” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hirudo_medicinalis&oldid=1380425952), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the medicinal leech endangered?
The medicinal leech is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.
How is the medicinal leech classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumAnnelida
- classClitellata
- orderArhynchobdellida
- familyHirudinidae
- genusHirudo
- SpeciesHirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Sanguisuga medicinalis
Other names and names in other languages (48)
- European blood-sucking leechEnglish
- European medicinal leechEnglish
- European medicinal leechEnglish
- BloedsuierAfrikaans
- sangoneraAragonese
- sanixuelaAsturian
- Медычная п’яўкаBelarusian
- Медыцынская п’яўкаBelarusian
- Медицинска пиявицаBulgarian
- Sangonera comunaCatalan
- pijavka lékařskáCzech
- LægeigleDanish
- BlutegelGerman
- Gemeiner BlutegelGerman
- Medizinischer BlutegelGerman
- SanguijuelaSpanish
- sanguijuela medicinalSpanish
- kirjukaanEstonian
- apteegikaanEstonian
- izainBasque
- verijuotikasFinnish
- Sangsue comepollasFrench
- Sangsue MédicinaleFrench
- Sangsue médicinale européenneFrench
- Sangsue OfficinaleFrench
- BitjwiremNorthern Frisian
- Orvosi piócaHungarian
- lækningaiglaIcelandic
- Медициналык сүлүкKyrgyz
- Vaistinė dėlėLithuanian
- Medicininė dėlėLithuanian
- Медицин цӹвӹтӓнWestern Mari
- blodigleNorwegian Bokmål
- legeigleNorwegian Bokmål
- Medicinale bloedzuigerDutch
- Pijawka lekarskaPolish
- Sanguessuga-das-sangriasPortuguese
- Медицинская пиявкаRussian
- pijavica lekárskaSlovak
- zdravljenje s pijavkamiSlovenian
- Европска медицинска пијавицаSerbian
- blodigelSwedish
- ШуллукTajik
- Tıbbi SülükTurkish
- Avrupa Tıp SülüğüTurkish
- П’явка медичнаUkrainian
- П'явка медичнаUkrainian
- Đỉa trâuVietnamese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISNCBI TaxonomyTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the medicinal leech
Other species in the same genus Hirudo.
CompareMedicinal leech vs Mediterranean medicinal leechMedicinal leech vs East Asian leechMedicinal leech vs Herpobdella atomariaMedicinal leech vs Hirudo bioculata
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What is the scientific name of the medicinal leech?
The scientific name of the medicinal leech is Hirudo medicinalis. It is placed in the genus Hirudo.
Who named the medicinal leech and when?
The medicinal leech was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Is the medicinal leech endangered?
No, the medicinal leech is listed as Near Threatened in the global IUCN Red List assessment. This is not an IUCN threatened category.
What other names does the medicinal leech have?
The medicinal leech is also called the European medicinal leech and the European blood-sucking leech.
What family and order does the medicinal leech belong to?
The medicinal leech belongs to the family Hirudinidae and the order Arhynchobdellida, within the class Clitellata.
Is the medicinal leech an invasive species?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the medicinal leech as introduced in 2 countries: Denmark and United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/medicinal-leech
“Medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/medicinal-leech.
@misc{medicinal_leech_2026,
title = {Medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/medicinal-leech},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}