Dried Leech Shui Zhi 水蛭 Whole Dried Body Traditional Chinese Herbal Material 500g Bag

Dried Leech, known in TCM as Shui Zhi (水蛭), is the dried body of the leech Whitmania pigra or related Hirudo species. This whole-form animal material is traditionally associated with invigorating blood and resolving stasis in TCM theory. It is a raw herbal ingredient for professional decoction or external herbal applications, to be used under qualified guidance.

Key Selling Points

• Whole dried leech body in its original natural form
• Botanical source Whitmania pigra or Hirudo species dried body
• Known in TCM as Shui Zhi 水蛭 a classic blood-moving material
• Harvested in summer and autumn then scalded and dried
• Supplied as a 500g bag of raw Chinese medicinal material

Quality & Sensory

Typically flat and spindle-shaped with many ring segments, dark brown to blackish-brown on the back and yellowish-brown on the underside. The texture is brittle and easily broken with a gelatinous fracture, carrying a slight fishy odor.

Technical Specifications

Usage Scenarios

• Professional TCM decoction preparation under qualified guidance
• Traditional herbal formula compounding
• External herbal applications in traditional practice
• Herbal material supply for apothecary and clinical use

Traditional Uses

In TCM theory Shui Zhi is traditionally associated with breaking blood stasis and unblocking channels, and it appears in classic formulas for blood-stasis patterns. Traditionally it was processed by scalding in boiling water then sun-drying or low-temperature drying, and used in decoctions or powdered into formulas, always under professional supervision.

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