Wading through swamps, letting bloodsucking parasites cling to your bare legs… all in a day's work. Meet the leech collectors—unsung heroes (or victims?) of medieval medicine’s darkest days.

Leeches are still used by the NHS in some ... In 1348, the Black Death reached Britain. Medieval medicine was incapable of finding a cure, and it is estimated that over 2 million people lost ...

Medieval people were no exception ... While the concept of the four humors has since been abandoned by modern medicine, ...

The Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates was hailed by Medieval doctors as the ‘Father of Medicine ... and drained for a period of time, or leeches were placed on the patient’s body to ...