Objectives

i. To explain the basic plan of some members og phyla Platyhelminthes, Nematoda

and Rotifera.
ii. To identify the structures and functions of representative of these groups.
iii. To state the characteristics of members of these groups.
iv. To explain the difference between acoelomate and pseudocoelomate, and know
which phyla associated with each.

Introduction https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/platyhelminthes/platyhelminthes.html
The simplest animals that are bilaterally symmetrical and triploblastic (composed of three
fundamental cell layers) are the Platyhelminthes, the flatworms. Flatworms have no body
cavity other than the gut (and the smallest free-living forms may even lack that!) and lack an
anus; the same pharyngeal opening both takes in food and expels waste. Because of the
lack of any other body cavity, in larger flatworms the gut is often very highly branched in
order to transport food to all parts of the body. The lack of a cavity also constrains flatworms
to be flat; they must respire by diffusion, and no cell can be too far from the outside, making
a flattened shape necessary.
Flatworms were once divided into three groups. The mostly free-living Turbellaria include the
planarian, Dugesia, shown above; these are found in the oceans, in fresh water, and in moist
terrestrial habitats, and a few are parasitic. The Trematoda, or flukes, are all parasitic, and
have complex life cycles specialized for parasitism in animal tissues. Members of one major
taxon of flukes, the Digenea -- which includes the human lung fluke depicted at right -- pass
through a number of juvenile stages that are parasitic in one, two, or more intermediate
hosts before reaching adulthood, at which time they parasitize a definitive host. The
Cestoda, or tapeworms, are intestinal parasites in vertebrates, and they also show
anatomical and life history modifications for parasitism.
Procedure
Experiment 1: Flatworms of phylum Platyhelminthes
Dugesia (planaria)
1. A living Dugesia was obtained and its morphology was examined
2. The ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm, gastrovascular cavity and muscular pharynx
were identified.

Discussion (Post-lab Question)

Bilateral symmetry is different from radial symmetry because, bilateral symmetry generates
only two side (left and right) along the sagittal plane while radial symmetry generates
identical body halves around the central axis. Next, bilateral symmetry has similar body parts
that are arranged in both left and right sides equally, while radial symmetry has similar body
parts that are arranged in a regular manner around the central axis. Furthermore, the
development of head in front of the body is a prominent feature in bilateral symmetry while
in the development of a head in front of the body in radial symmetry is rare. Next, the sagittal
plane in bilateral symmetry divides the body into left and right sides while the body in radial
symmetry cannot be divided into left and right side.

Conclusion
Commonly called planaria and is a fresh water form of cosmopolitan distribution. The body is
elongated, flattened and some-what conical. A distinct head is present, which is triangular in
form and bears a pair of semicircular ocelli and a pair of distinct auricles. These animals are
acoelomate, bilaterally symmetrical and are triploblastic. Body wall is comprised of ciliated
epidermis and has rod-like bodies-the rhabdites embedded in it. Excretory organs are
protonephridia and flame cells. Alimentary canal is having a distinct pharynx, a proboscis
and an intestine, which is trifid in front and bifid behind. Reproduction through regeneration.