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Earthworm Dissection Pictures: Modern Biology, Holt
The following is a classification of a species in the earthworm family Lumbricidae. This common species is Lumbricus terrestris also known as the night crawler or dew worm.
Phylum - Class - Family - Genus - Species -
Annelida Oligochaeta Lumbricidae Lumbricus terrestris
Objectives:
**- Describe the appearance of various organs found in the earthworm.
- Name the organs that make up various systems of the earthworm.**
Materials: Safety goggles, dissecting pins, gloves, forceps, lab apron, scissors, paper towel, scalpel, water, dissecting probe, preserved earthworm, hand lens, dissection tray.
Purpose: In this lab, you will dissect an earthworm in order to observe the external and internal structures of earthworm anatomy.
Background: Among the most familiar invertebrate animals are the earthworms, members of the phylum Annelida. The word annelida means "ringed" and refers to a series of rings or segments that make up the bodies of the members of this phylum. Internally, septa, or dividing walls, are located between the segments.
External segments are called metameres. There may be more than 100 segments in an adult worm. The clitellum is a swelling of the body found in sexually mature worms and is active in the formation of an egg capsule, or cocoon. Eggs are produced in the ovaries and pass out of the body through female genital pores. Sperm are produced in the testes and pass out through tiny male genital pores. During mating, sperm from one worm travel along the sperm grooves to the seminal receptacles of another worm. Fertilization of the eggs takes place outside the body as the cocoon moves forward over the body, picking up the eggs of one worm and the sperm of its mate.
The pumping organs of the circulatory system are five aortic arches. Circulatory fluids travel from the arches through the ventral blood vessel to capillary beds in the body. The fluids then collect in the dorsal blood vessel and reenter the aortic arches.
The earthworm takes in a mixture of soil and organic matter through its mouth, which is the beginning of the digestive tract. The mixture enters the pharynx, which is located in segments 1 – 6. The esophagus, in segments 6 – 13, acts as a passageway between the pharynx
and the crop. The crop stores food temporarily. The mixture that the earthworm ingests is ground up in the gizzard. In the intestine, which extends over two-thirds of the body length, digestion and absorption take place. Soil particles and undigested organic matter pass out of the worm through the rectum and anus.
The nervous system consists of the ventral nerve cord, which travels the length of the worm on the ventral side, and a series of ganglia, which are masses of tissue containing many nerve cells. The nerve collar surrounds the pharynx and consists of ganglia above and below the pharynx. Nervous impulses are responsible for movement and responses to stimuli. Each segment contains an enlargement, or ganglion, along the ventral nerve cord. Excretory functions are carried on by nephridia, which are found in pairs in each body segment. They appear as tiny white fibers on the dorsal body wall. The earthworm has no gills or lungs. Gases are exchanged between the circulatory system and the environment through the moist skin.
Procedure:
External Anatomy
- Put on safety goggles, gloves, and a lab apron.
- Place earthworm in the dissecting tray & rinse off the excess preservative. Identify the dorsal side, which is the worm’s rounded top, and the ventral side, which is its flattened bottom. Turn the worm ventral side up, as shown in the diagram below.
open, little by little. Separate each septum from the central tube using a dissecting needle, and pin down each loosened bit of skin. Continue the incision forward to segment 1.
- Use the diagram below to locate and identify the five pairs of aortic arches, or hearts. Then find the dorsal blood vessel. Look for smaller blood vessels that branch from the dorsal blood vessel.
Digestive System
The earthworm is an example of a foraging herbivorous annelid, obtaining food by eating its way through the soil and extracting nutrients from the soil as it passes through the digestive tract.
Hint: Starting at the anterior end, locate the muscular pharynx (food ingestion). This is followed by a tube-like esophagus which terminates in a crop (the wider organ) which serves as a storage stomach. Posterior to the crop you will find the gizzard. Gently press on the crop and gizzard to test their firmness. While the crop is soft and thin, the gizzard is muscular (soil is ground up and churned within the gizzard). The gizzard is followed by a long intestine in which both digestion and absorption occur. Undigested material is voided through the anus.
10. The worm’s excretory organs are tiny nephridia. There are two in every segment. Use the preceding diagram to locate some nephridia.
- Use the diagram below to locate and identify a pair of ovaries in segment 13. Look for two pairs of tiny testes in segments 10 and 11. To find these organs, you will again have to push aside some parts already dissected.
