leeches

[Poison]

I like them too. Because the question about them in my mid-term was easy.

[Eolian1701]

Maggots have been used to eat away dead flesh from a wound so it could be stitched. I that what you were thinking of, VeenaandNivyah ?

[sickstan]

well...then is there any other insect that is, rather was, being used to stitch...
VeenandNivyah

Ants in South America (no idea what species) with very large mandibles are used like stitches or staples in backwater wound repair. They are made to clamp down on the wound edges, then their thoraces/abdomina are removed, presumably to cause the ant to die with their mandibles clamped. National Geographic magazine once featured a picture of a wound repaired by this method.

As far as maggots -- they are used by surgeons in cases where large areas of mixed tissue necrosis and living tissues are hard to separate. A good example is an arterial clot that has lysed and caused multiple smaller emboli of the peripheral vessels of the leg. The necrotic wedges from these emboli are interspersed with areas of perfused, living tissues, yet no surgeon could remove the necrotic tissues while leaving the living tissues intact. That's where maggots come in. The sterile maggots are put on the woundsite and allowed to devour the dead tissue, leaving the living tissues alone. The maggots are then washed out with pressurized saline and the open wounds allowed to heal by secondary intent.

Hope that answers your question.