Earthworm Digestive organs Index Courses Zoo Review Earthworm digestive Search

Image by: Bryan Yang; ~15x magnification

Closeup of the digestive organs from the anterior region of a freshly dissected live earthworm. Visible are the:

• intestine - brown structure to the left (posterior) in the picture
• crop - light gray structure in the center of the picture (between the seminal vesicles), filled with dark brown material
• gizzard - reddish structure to the left (posterior of) the crop
• seminal vesicles - large off-white structures in the center of the picture, part of the male reproductive system (not part of the digestive system)
• seminal receptacles - smaller white structures near the seminal vesicles, part of the female reproductive system (not part of the digestive system)
• dorsal blood vessel - red line running on top of the crop and gizzard (not part of the digestive system)
• hearts (aortic arches) - red tubes running across the esophagus (between the seminal vesicles) (hearts are not pat of the digestive system)