Get these printable hands-on diagrams of worm anatomy to assist your study about worm body anatomy. These printable worm diagrams are designed to guide you in studying the structure of a worm in general and detail. Scroll down to the bottom to see all the provided diagrams!
You can see on the worm diagram, a worms body is made up of many segments called ‘annuli’. The length of a worms body has muscles which contract and relax which enables the worm to move along a surface. The ‘annuli’ are covered in tiny hairs called ‘setae’ which help the worms movement. Worms have no lungs, so they do not breathe like a human being or like many other animals. Instead, because they do need oxygen, they absorb the air through tiny pores in the skin and it goes straight into their bloodstream. Even though they don’t have a skeleton and can’t walk upright, worms do many of the same things people do to survive. More anatomy diagrams of the worm are provided below.
The cuticle is the worm’s outermost body wall. Beneath the cuticle are: the epidermis, a layer of nerve tissue, and the circular and longitudinal muscles for locomotion. Circular muscles create the worm’s body rings. These muscles contract and expand, shortening and lengthening the worm’s body. The longitudinal muscles run the length of the worm. Acting in concert these sets of muscles enable the worm to propel forward, backward and sideways. Moisture in their environment lubricates this locomotion. Running through the worm’s body is the alimentary canal or gut. It starts at the mouth, called the buccal cavity, and moves to the back with the pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard, intestine and anus, respectively. A worm has actually got five hearts. Five hearts that pump blood around its’ body.
Also provided is the unlabeled version of the diagrams. Learn more about the other human body structure and anatomy diagrams by browsing through our latest posts or looking it up on the search column!