Annelida Lab

Biology 11
Name:
Annelida Lab
Purpose: to compare and contrast the various body plans of annelids

Materials:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
preserved earthworm
hand lens
dissection tray
dissecting pins, forceps, scissors, scalpel, probe
gloves
microscope and Leech, Earthworm CS and nephridium slides
Method:
Part 1: Earthworm (Oligochaeta) Dissection
1. Place earthworm in the dissecting tray & rinse off the excess
preservative. Identify the dorsal side, which is the worms rounded top,
and the ventral side, which is its flattened bottom. Turn the worm ventral
side up, as shown in the diagram below.
2. Use a hand lens as you observe all parts of the worm, externally and
internally. Find the anterior end by locating the prostomium, which is a
fleshy lobe that extends over the mouth. The other end of the worms
body is the posterior end, where the anus is located.
3. Locate the clitellum, which extends from segment 33 to segment 37. Look
for the worms setae, which are the minute bristle-like spines located on
every segment except the first and last one.
4. Refer again to the diagram of the ventral view of the worm to locate and
identify the external parts of its reproductive system. Find the pair of
sperm grooves that extend from the clitellum to about segment 15, where
one pair of male genital pores is located. Look also for one pair of female
genital pores on segment 14. There is another pair of male genital pores
on about segment 26. Try to find the two pairs of openings of the seminal
receptacles on segment 10. Note: These openings are not easy to see.
5. Do an external drawing of your worm label as many structures as you
can.
6. Turn the worm dorsal side up. Using a scalpel and scissors, make a
shallow incision in the dorsal side of the clitellum at segment 33.
CAUTION: Scalpels and scissors are very sharp. Report any cuts to your
teacher. Using the forceps and scalpel, spread the incision 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.
7. 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.
8. Locate the digestive tract, which lies below the dorsal blood vessel. Refer
to the diagram above to locate the pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard,
and intestine.
9. To find organs of the nervous system, push aside the digestive and
circulatory system organs. Use the diagram below to locate the ventral
nerve cord. Trace the nerve cord forward to the nerve collar, which circles
the pharynx. Find one pair of ganglia under the pharynx and another pair
of ganglia above the pharynx. The ganglia above the pharynx serve as the
brain of the earthworm.
10. The worms excretory organs are tiny nephridia. There are two in every
segment. Use the preceding diagram to locate some nephridia.
11. 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.
12. Do a drawing of your worm in its dissected form label as many

structures as you can.
13. Dispose of your materials according to the directions from your
teacher.
14. Clean up your work area and wash your hands before leaving the lab.
Part 2: Other worms
1. Use the microscope and do a drawing of the cross-section through an
earthworm. Be sure to label as many germ layers as you can.
2. Use a microscope to view and draw a diagram of the earthworm
nephridium.
3. Draw a diagram of the sandworm (Polychaeta) specimen
4. Use a microscope to view and draw a diagram of the leech (Hirudinea)
label as many structures as you can.
ALL OF THE PICTURES ARE THE SAME AS JARED Bs. WE WERE PARTNERS
Analysis:
1. What is the name of the pumping organs of an earthworm?
Answer: Aortic Aches.
2. In the earthworm trace the parts of the digestive tract through
which food passes.
Answer: I dont have a phone to take a picture with, but I would trace right
through the center.
3. Which parts of the earthworm serve as its brain? How are these
parts connected to the rest of the body?
Answer: The anterior end of the single ventral cord.
4. Which of the parts of the earthworms body that you saw are
included in the excretory system?
Answer: I found the earthworms septa, but I dont think that I saw and
external pores or even nephridias.
5. How can you find out whether an earthworm eats soil?
Answer: I would have to look in the digestive system of the earthworm
during the dissection. I f the worm was still alive, I could place it in a
concealed area wear it wouldnt be able to escape and study it over a
period of time to see if during that time it eats the dirt.
6. Among the earthworms structural adaptations are its setae. How
do you think the earthworms setae make it well adapted to its
habitat?
Answer: The setae allow the earthworm to easily burrow into the dirt.
7. How is the earthworms digestive system adapted for extracting
relatively small amounts of food from large amounts of ingested
soil
Answer: The gizzard is a muscular organ used to churn the food and then
it moves onto the intestine where absorption of the food occurs.
8. Your dissection of the earthworm did not go beyond segment 32.
What will you observe if you dissect the remainder of the worm to
its posterior end?
Answer: I think that the earthworm would probably look the same past the
segment 32, as it will probably include the digestive system, arteries and
the nerve cord.
9. What did each germ layer develop into in the earthworm?
Answer: The endoderm developed into the digestive system. The
mesoderm developed into the muscles and the inner organs, one of which
was the arteries. The ectoderm turned into the skin and the ventral nerve.
10. What is the function of the nephridium? How does it complete
this function?
Answer: The nephridium is the excretory system of the earthworm. It acts
like a kidney, as it removes unwanted chemicals one of which being
ammonia. The segment before passes its fluid in the coelom to the next
segment. It is in this segment where the fluid is processed and the worm
removes the nutrients it needs, leaving the leftover ammonia. It is this
excess that is excreted through the external pore as urine.
11. How is the sandworm similar and different to the earthworm?
Answer: The Sandworm lives in the water and it gets around using
parapodia. The Earthworm is well adapted to land using its setae to
burrow through the ground where it lives. It is these setae that allow it to
move and the Earthworm also eats dirt. They both are annelids, have a
nerve and a artery and the both do not have eyes, but mouths.
12. How is the leech designed to live as an ectoparasite? What are
the similarities and differences between the leech and the
earthworm?
Answer: Leeches are designed to live as an ectoparasite because they
have suckers that attach to their hosts. In this bite, they release an anticoagulant that acts somewhat like an anesthetic. Leeches live in water,
are parasites, they attach to their hosts and drain blood from their
victims. Both Earthworms and Leeches are annelids as well; both have an
artery and a nerve and both dont have eye but have mouths

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Biology 11

Purpose: to compare and contrast the various body plans of annelids

12. Do a drawing of your worm in its dissected form label as many

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