The vascular lesions caused by leeches on the blood vessels of their host cause blood to coagulate naturally. How does the leech solve the problem of the ingested blood potentially coagulating inside its body?
When the leech bites the host the secretory content of the salivary cells is released when they bite the mucus facilitates the lubrication of the site and hydration of the blood and the hirudin injected promotes injection of the blood meal by preventing coagulation.
When leeches are feeding it is essential for them to maintain the blood in liquid state it is necessary to prevent coagulation in the bite site and also prevent an increase in blood mass in their digestive tract.
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