Earthworm dissection lab

 1. The name for the pumping organs of an earthworm are called the hearts.

 2. The food enters the mouth travelling through the pharynx, crop, and gizzard, into the intestine nd out the anus.

3. The brain is attached to a nerve cord that runs on the bottom (ventral) inside of the worm that runs through the entire body. 

4.  The end or otherwise known as the "anus" is the part of the worms body that is included in the excretory and is used to remove digested materials within the body.

5. Since worms live in dirt they naturally take their nutrients from the soil, but because they don't have tongues to separate what is food and what is dirt, it would all be mixed together. To further prove that, cutting open the earthworm you saw lots of black on the inside towards where the food was held, most likely intakes of soil.

6. Setae are tiny little prickles on the outside of the worm that help it move along through most terrain. It is also used in protecting itself by sticking out of the dirt to keep predators from attacking 

7. The digestive system has adapted by using the crop to store the food that passes through, then using the gizzard to separate the food from the soil, helping it receive its nutrients.

As soon as the class was told we were going to dissect worms the first things to leave anyone's mouth was "oh my god, gross". The thought of having to possibly handle a worm was not the first thing on anybody's agenda for the day, but once everyone had gotten past that the work had begun. First my partner and I pinned the head end of the worm to our tray and then stretched the worm and tight as we could without it breaking and the pinned the anus. Soon after we made an incision right down the whole body of the warm on the dorsal side and pinned down the rest of the skin. From that point we could see the entire inside cavity of an earthworm, dirt and all. We then viewed from one end to the other the insides under a microscope, looking at the various hearts, reproductive section, digest tract and so on. Towards the anus things started to get really messy as we gently scraped away the dirt in the digestive tract to get a better look at the intestine and the typhlosole. After our observations were complete, the remainder of class was spent thoroughly cleaning all the tools used and putting them away, as well as cleaning all the counters. I found this lab much more educational as it was hands on and helped make things easier to learn and remember.