Leech Farm

Digestion
For leeches, the digestive system starts with the jaw, which is located ventrally on the anterior side of the body. It is attached to the pharynx, then the esophagus, extending to the crop, then to the gizzard, which leads to the intestinum, where it ends at the posterior sucker. The crop is a type of stomach that works like an expandable storage compartment. The crop allows a leech to store blood up to five times its body size, and, because the leech produces an anticoagulant, the stored blood remains in a liquid state; because of this ability to hold blood without the blood decaying, due to bacteria living inside the crop, medicinal leeches need to feed only twice a year.
The body of predatory leeches are similar, though some may also have a protrusible proboscis, which is retracted in their mouths. Such leeches are often ambush predators, which lie in wait, and strike their prey using their probosces in a spear-like fashion.