Russian leech farm supplies doctors who trust an ancient therapy

A worker checks on the condition of the leeches. The Udelnaya farm sells them to medical clinics for about $1.50 apiece.  (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

Rows of leeches in jars. On feeding day, the leeches get blood supplied by slaughterhouses in the area.  (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

A leech tender smiles as she checks on her slimy charges.   (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

Yelena Titova, head of quality control at the farm, inspects a jar.  (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

All of the leech tenders in Udelnaya are women. It’s no job for men, says quality control chief Yelena Titova, because they lack the motherly instinct.  (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

A hand dipped into a jar comes up leeches.  (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

A monument to the leech in the courtyard of the farm.  (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)