#Reading
The earliest recorded use of leeches being used for this purpose dates back 3,500 years to paintings of medicinal leeches found in tombs in ancient Egypt, but the practice is probably much older, and medical treatment with leeches is also thought to have been practised in ancient China. In classical Greece and Rome, bloodletting with leeches was believed necessary to restore the body's essential balance, even in perfectly healthy people, whilst in medieval Europe, doctors and chemists made extensive use of leeches to treat all manner of diseases. I n the days before antibiotics and sterile surgery, bloodletting was one of the few tools available to combat infections and treat wounds, although in many cases, the treatment was ineffective and often even dangerous.
