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Circulation in Annelida

Annelids like earthworms, leeches, and polychaetes have a closed circulatory system with blood vessels that transport blood, nutrients, and oxygen throughout the body. The circulatory system includes two main vessels - the dorsal vessel along the back and the ventral vessel along the belly. These vessels are connected by smaller vessels in each body segment and transport blood in opposite directions. There are also many capillaries in the skin where gas exchange occurs. While annelids do not have a well-developed heart, the muscular dorsal vessel functions to pump blood through the system. In some species, additional muscular vessels near the head also act as hearts.

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Narasimha Murthy
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1K views2 pages

Circulation in Annelida

Annelids like earthworms, leeches, and polychaetes have a closed circulatory system with blood vessels that transport blood, nutrients, and oxygen throughout the body. The circulatory system includes two main vessels - the dorsal vessel along the back and the ventral vessel along the belly. These vessels are connected by smaller vessels in each body segment and transport blood in opposite directions. There are also many capillaries in the skin where gas exchange occurs. While annelids do not have a well-developed heart, the muscular dorsal vessel functions to pump blood through the system. In some species, additional muscular vessels near the head also act as hearts.

Uploaded by

Narasimha Murthy
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CIRCULATION IN ANNELIDA

Earthworm circulatory system.

Earthworms, leeches, and polychaetes worms have a closed circulatory system;


meaning, the inner space of their bodies is filled with blood vessels that carry blood,
nutrients, and oxygen throughout the body. Earthworms can absorb oxygen directly
through their skin, but the blood is essential for carting nutrients around. Like our veins
and arteries, these vessels move blood from a series of hearts that lie near the head. Each
heart has a small aortic arch vessel that takes blood to and from the hearts, similar to our
own single aorta.

Important blood vessels within an annelid's body include the dorsal blood vessel, which
runs from the hearts at the 'back', or dorsal, side of the body; and the ventral blood vessel,
which runs from the hearts at the 'front', 'belly', or ventral, side of the body.

Another important set of blood vessels are the lateral vessels that run along the intestines
or gut tube of the annelid body structure. These blood vessels help bring nutrients away
from the gut and out toward the rest of the body.

Unlike most molluscs, annelids have a closed circulatory system. In a closed circulatory
system, blood is always contained within blood vessels. The annelid circulatory system
includes two major blood vessels that run the length of the worm: the dorsal blood vessel
along the top and a ventral blood vessel along the bottom. The ventral vessel transports blood
from the head to the tail region, and the dorsal vessel transports blood from the tail to the
head. These two vessels are connected to each other within each segment by two smaller
blood vessels. There are also many small capillaries that extend into the skin of the worm, and
this is where gas exchange occurs in most species. Annelids do not have a central, well-
developed heart, and usually the muscular dorsal blood vessel functions to pump blood

Dr.C.V.NARASIMHA MURTHY, Associate Professor ( Contract) VSUPG.C. Kavali. M.Sc. Zoology,


Previous. Paper I .Notes. 2018-2019.
through the circulatory system. In some species there may be a number of muscular blood
vessels that function as blood-pumping hearts. Earthworms have five of these muscular,
heart-like vessels located in the front region of the body. A diagram of a dissected annelid
showing part of the closed circulatory system is shown in figure

A diagram of the internal anatomy of an annelid. This diagram shows the organization of
the closed circulatory system, including the muscular heart-like vessels and the dorsal
blood vessel. Notice the smaller blood vessels branching from the dorsal blood vessel. In a
closed circulatory system, blood is transported to each tissue inside of tiny blood vessels.
It never flows freely within body cavities of the animal. Several components of the annelid
nervous system are also depicted in this diagram, including the central ganglion in the
head region, the ventral nerve cord, and the many segmental ganglia.

Dr.C.V.NARASIMHA MURTHY, Associate Professor ( Contract) VSUPG.C. Kavali. M.Sc. Zoology,


Previous. Paper I .Notes. 2018-2019.

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