Hirudin Hirudin Hirudin is a naturally occurring peptide in the salivary glands of blood-sucking leeches (such as "Hirudo medicinalis") that has a blood anticoagulant property. This is fundamental for the leeches’ alimentary habit of hematophagy, since it keeps the blood flowing after the initial phlebotomy performed by the worm on the host’s skin. During his years in Birmingham and Edinburgh, John Berry Haycraft had been actively engaged in research and published papers on the coagulation of blood, and in 1884, he discovered that the leech secreted a powerful anticoagulant, which he named hirudin, although it was not isolated until the 1950s,
Salivary gland therapy may impair salivary flow. Radiotherapy can cause permanent hyposalivation due to injury to the oral mucosa containing the salivary glands, resulting in xerostomia, whereas chemotherapy may cause only temporary salivary impairment. Graft versus host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation may manifest as dry mouth and many small mucoceles. Salivary gland tumours may occur, including mucoepidermoid carcinoma, a malignant growth. A sialogram is a radiocontrast study of a salivary duct that may be used to investigate its function and for diagnosing Sjögren syndrome. The salivary glands of some species are modified to produce proteins - salivary amylase is found