Adatok a hirudoterápia magyarországi történetéhez

Hirudotherapy, i.e. using leeches for medical reasons, has a historic tradition of many millennia. Specific sources indicate that these unique bloodsuckers were already employed in ancient Egypt, and they were also applied in Indian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine medical practice. Hirudotherapy was supposed to be effective in some conditions, justified by inherited illustrations, codices and printed textbooks, and physicians’ dissertations. In Hungary, this European-wide practice of leech therapy gained many followers among doctors, pharmacists, and traditional healers. Its living tradition in professional and ethnomedicine was boosted by the influence of the French physician Broussais (1772–1838) in the early 19th century. The leech business was very lucrative for Hungarian traders, since this country, rich in waters by its marshy areas and claybed lakes, became the largest exporter of leeches in Europe in these decades. Despite numerous treatises on hirudotherapy, sources in Hungarian attracted relatively limited attention. This study aims to fill this gap while also providing insights into the role of this therapy in professional, ethno- and alternative medicine, including the history of pharmacy.