Earthworm Anatomy

The earthworm belongs to a group of animals called annelids (segmented worms).

The body of an annelid is usually divided internally and externally into well-defined
segments which may be separated from each other by membranous partitions
called septa. Except for the tail and head regions, all segments are essentially alike.
The earthworm hunts food at night and thus has been called a "night crawler". It
usually extends its body from the surface opening of a small tunnel which it makes
by "eating" its way through the soil. The rear end of the worm's body remains near
the opening while the head end forages from decaying leaves and animal debris.
It has been estimated that an acre of good soil contains over 50,000 earthworms. By
their continuous foraging and tunneling these worms turn 18 to 20 tons of soil per
acre and bring over one inch of rich soil to the surface every four to five years. Thus,
indirectly, the earthworm enriches farmland and provides for more food in a rapidly
expanding population.
External Anatomy
Use the diagram below to locate the external features of your specimen.

At the anterior end is a small fleshy projection over the mouth. This is
the prostomium. It is not considered to be a segment of the worm. The anus, the
opening at the end of the digestive tract through which solid wastes are expelled, will
be found at the posterior end.
About one-third of the way back from the mouth is a thick cylindrical collar the clitellum. This structure is involved in reproduction.
Place the worm so that the ventral (lower) side is uppermost. In living worms the
ventral surface is a lighter color than the dorsal (upper) surface. With your finger,

lightly stroke the ventral surface in an anterior direction. The bristles you feel are
the setae and are used by the worm in movement.
1. How many segments does your worm have?
_______________________
2. How many pairs of setae are there in each segment of the worm?
_______________________
3. Which segments of the worm do not have setae?
____________________________________
4. Which segments are covered by the clitellum?
_______________________
Each segment (except the first three and the last one) have pores. The small
openings connect with the metanephridia which are the primitive kidneys of the
earthworm. Liquid wastes, which collect in the body cavity, are excreted through
these nephridial openings.
Opening the Body
Place the earthworm on the dissecting tray, dorsal side up. Place a pin through the
prostomium and the anal segment, as in the diagram below.

Use the diagram below as a guide. With forceps, lift the dorsal skin. Insert scissors at
the base of the forceps and cut a line (slightly off center) through to the anus. BE
CAREFUL to cut only as deep as the skin to avoid damaging the internal organs.

Use the diagram below as a guide. Beginning at the anal end, hold the body wall
with forceps and with a scalpel, cut through the septa on both sides of the intestine.
Cut to within 1/2 to 1 inch of the clitellum.

Pin the body wall to the dissecting tray as shown below.

Cut forward through the clitellum. BE CAREFUL to cut only as deep as the skin to
avoid damaging the internal organs. Sever the septa and pin the body wall to the tray
as in the diagram below.

Digestive System
The diagram below shows the general location and structure of the digestive system.

Locate the mouth, just below the overlapping prostomium.

The mouth leads to a slightly expanded and muscular pharynx which is usually
covered by three pairs of whitish seminal vesicles.
Food is passed on by muscular contractions in the pharynx through
the exophagus to the crop where it is temporarily stored.
The crop opens into a thick-walled, and highly muscular gizzard where food, with the
aid of samll soil particles taken in during feeding, is ground up.
Food then goes into the intestine where digestion and absorption occur.
Solid waste products of digestion are passed to the exterior through the anus.
Circulatory System
The closed circulatory system of the earthworm moves blood through a series of
blood vessels. The blood is red because it contains hemoglobin, the same pigment
that gives the red color to human blood.
The major vessels of the circulatory system are a dorsal blood vessel laying on top
of the digestive tract and a ventral blood vessel lying below the digestive tract.
These two vessels are connected with each other by a number of vessels passing
around the digestive tract. Five pairs of these (located in segments 7 to 11) are
larger than the others and comprise the "hearts". Pulsation of the hearts cause
circulation of the blood.
Reproductive System
Cut through the intestine near the clitellum. Carefully lift it and ease it free as far
forward as the posterior end of the pharynx. Then cut it out. Use the diagram below
as a guide to locate the reproductive organs.

Although earthworms are monoecious, possess a complete set of both male and
female reproductive organs, they undergo cross-fertilization during copulation. Two
worms come tigether along their ventral sides and release sperm cells from
the seminal vesicles into the seminal receptacles of the opposite worm. The
animals separate and the clitellum of each worm then secretes a mucus ring. The
worm then "backs" out of this ring. As it slides over the anterior segments, it picks up
eggs from the oviducts in the 14th segment and sperm then slides off the anterior
end of the worm to form the egg cocoon, from which the young eventually hatch.
The seminal vesicles are found lying alongside the crop and gizzard. The testes are
too small to be seen. Near the seminal vesicles (in segments 9 and 10) are the four
small, spherical seminal receptacles.
Nervous System
The nervous system in the worm is difficult to study. Its major component is
the ventral nerve cord, which runs the lingth of the worm on the inner ventral
surface. At its anterior end the cord divides and passes around the front part of the
pharynx where it enlarges to form two swellings - the cerebral ganglia. These might
be considered primitive "brains".
Along the length of the cord, lateral nerves are given off which go to the muscles of
the body wall.
Excretory System
Each segment of the body, except the first three and the last one, contains a pair of
excretory structures called metanephridia. These coiled tubular structures, lying
next to the body wall, open to the exterior by a pore called a nephridiopore.
Internally they are connected to the septum of the segment just anterior to them.

Each nephridium collects fluid wastes from the segment anterior to the segment in
which it is located.

Earthworms are hermaphroditic, yet they still have to find mates. Although each worm
produces both sperm and ova, a worm cannot self-fertilize. Two worms must find each other
(not an easy task), exchange sperm, then later use the partners sperm to fertilize its own
eggs.

Today my daughters noticed two earthworms in a crack of our driveway, in flagrante delicto. I
grabbed my cameras, and caught a few good images. My daughters were fascinated by what
they saw, and a bit troubled that their father was taking pictures of animals engaged in sex.

Heres what was going on. The worm secretes sperm from pores on Segment 15, and can
store sperm from another worm in receptacles on Segments 9 & 10. Its own ova are stored in
oviducts that open on Segment 13.

Once they meet, the two worms line up in opposite directions with their ventral surfaces
touching; Segments 9 and 10 of each worm are aligned with the clitellum of its partner. Setae
(little hair-like structures that serve as anchors during locomotion) are extended to penetrate
the body of the mate, holding the worms together. Mucus is also secreted in abundance,
helping to secure the worms, and providing a moist environment for the transfer of sperm.
Sperm released from each worm is carried via an external seminal groove to the seminal
receptacles of the partner; after an hour or so the two worms part ways.

Later the clitellum secretes a thick mucous cocoon, from which the worm wriggles out
backwards. As the cocoon passes over the oviduct an egg or two are released into it; then as
it passes the seminal receptacles stored sperm is released into it.

Once the worm has crawled fully out of the cocoon the ends of the cocoon seal, the outside
hardens, and the egg, now fertilized, develops into a young earthworm that will emerge from
the cocoon in anywhere from 3 weeks to several months (perhaps longer), depending on the
moisture and temperature of the soil.
I relied on these sources for information used here I do not know this material myself:
[http://thewormhaus.com/theworm.html]
[http://plworms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Worm-mating.jpg]
[http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~rlenet/Earthworms.html]

Worm sex in cross-view 3D:

Additional thoughts:
This train of thought has been percolating in my mind all day Ill try to make it coherent.
Sexual reproduction, that is, the need to exchange genetic material with a partner, must be
very advantageous to the earthworm. The sexual anatomy is such that self-fertilization would
not be difficult. When the worms copulate and exchange sperm, the partners sperm is stored
a few segments in front of the opening from which the worm will deposit its egg into the
mucous cocoon. The worm releases its own sperm from openings a few segments behind this
female opening from which the egg is released; its sperm then travel externally to the
storage receptacles on its partner. How hard would it be (have been) for the worm either to
release its sperm to its own storage receptacles, or instead simply to release its own sperm
directly into the mucous cocoon? This would avoid the risk associated with coupling with
another worm in a relatively open setting (certainly more open that the worms burrow) for a
period that typically lasts more than an hour. Clearly the benefit gained from the exchange of
genes must outweigh the risk inherent in copulation.
And one more thought: one reason given for the inability to self-fertilize is that sperm and
egg mature at different times, with sperm maturing first. I dont understand this argument,
as during sexual reproduction both worms allegedly use the partners sperm to fertilize an
egg shortly after copulation; if the sperm that one worm released is not ready for prime time,
surely the sperm that it received is equally immature. Something about this doesnt ring true.
Feel free to email any comments to me at wjwilson@albion.edu.