Are Hedgehogs Mammals? A Detailed Explanation of Hedgehog Animal Classification

According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, the hedgehog is a small medicinal animal with high economic value. So, are hedgehogs mammals? What medicinal values do they have?

The hedgehog is a mammal. It belongs to the viviparous heterothermic animals and is the collective name for a type of hedgehog in the subfamily Erinaceinae of the order Erinaceomorpha. Moreover, every part of the hedgehog is useful; its brain, meat, fat oil, heart and liver, gallbladder, and skin can all be used medicinally.

1. Hedgehog skin

The skin of the hedgehog is called Yixiang or Xianrenyi, and its name in Chinese medicinal materials is hedgehog skin (ciweipi). Its main components are keratin, collagen, and fat. Its main functions are to descend qi and relieve pain, and to cool the blood and stop bleeding. It treats counterflow vomiting of food, abdominal pain and hernia, intestinal wind and hemorrhoids with leakage, and spermatorrhea.

2. Hedgehog brain

Its name in Chinese medicinal materials is hedgehog brain (weinao), and its main component is norepinephrine. It is mainly used to treat lupus fistula.

3. Hedgehog meat

Its name in Chinese medicinal materials is hedgehog meat (weirou), and its main function is to treat counterflow vomiting, stomach pain, and hemorrhoids with leakage. Hedgehog meat is a high-protein delicacy; eaten roasted, it can tonify the lower origin, regulate stomach qi, and enhance appetite.

4. Hedgehog bile

Its name in Chinese medicinal materials is hedgehog gallbladder (weidan), and its main functions are to treat eye application and stop tearing, and, dissolved in water, to treat hemorrhoids.

5. Hedgehog fat

Its name in Chinese medicinal materials is hedgehog fat (weizhi), and it treats intestinal wind and bloody stool, and deafness.

6. Hedgehog heart and liver

Its name in Chinese medicinal materials is hedgehog heart and liver (weixin'gan), and it mainly treats malignant sores.

The hedgehog is not only a medicinal material; it can also be cooked and eaten in ordinary times. However, do not eat wild hedgehogs, as wild hedgehogs carry many germs and parasites and can easily cause infection.