Phylum Platyhelminthes

General Characteristics
They exhibit bilateral symmetry:
anterior and posterior ends are different;
so are the dorsal (top) and ventral
(bottom) surfaces
The platyhelminths also exhibit some
degree of cephalization Commonly
referred to as the 'flatworms' because
their bodies are dorsoventrally flattened.
They are acoelomates
This phylum (and all remaining phyla)
possess 3 germ layers (=triploblastic)
The mesoderm (third germ layer) gives
rise to muscles, various organ systems,
and the parenchyma, a form of solid
tissue containing cells and fibers
Outer Body Covering

The body of some platyhelminthes
(e.g., turbellarians) is covered by a
ciliated epidermis
Epidermal cells contain rod-
shaped structures called rhabdites
that when released into the
surrounding water, expand and form
a protective mucous coat around the
animal
The outer body covering of other
platyhelminthes (e.g., parasitic
forms) is a non-ciliated tegument
The tegument is referred to as a
syncytial epithelium

Organ Systems of the Platyhelminthes

Digestive System

Some of the flatworms possess a digestive system, with a mouth,
pharynx, and a branching intestine from which the nutrients are
absorbed
The intestine, with only one opening, is a blind system
Organ Systems of the Platyhelminthes cont.
Excretory System (osmoregulation)
A network of water collecting tubules adjacent to flame cells
or a protonephridia
When cilia beat they move water into the tubules and out the
body through pores called nephridiopores
Organ Systems of the Platyhelminthes cont
Muscular System

Below the epidermis are layers of
circular and longitudinal muscle
fibers; used in locomotion

Nervous System

Includes: anterior cerebral ganglia,
longitudinal nerve cords, and some
lateral nerves
Most free living planarians and
parasitic larval forms possess a
variety of sensory organs (e.g., eye
spots, statocysts, rheoreceptors)
Organ Systems of the Platyhelminthes cont.
Reproductive System

Most are capable of some
form of asexual
reproduction (e.g., many
turbellarians reproduce by
fission)
Most flatworms are
hermaphroditic; however,
they often pair with other
individuals to exchange
gametes
Platyhelminthes Taxonomy

Locomotion

Most move by means of
cilia and mucous
Muscle contractions also
permit turning, twisting and
folding of the body

Class Turbellaria

Free-living flatworms; mostly marine organisms
Range in size from microscopic (interstitial species between
sand grains) to extremely large (two feet)

Class Turbellaria cont

Nutrition

Turbellarians are carnivores and prey on other animals or eat dead
animal remains.
Planarians have a muscular pharynx that they can insert into their
prey and then pump to bring in food fragments
These animals have a highly divided gut to greatly increase the
surface area for digestion and absorption

Senses

They have well developed sensory structures, including eyespots,
mechanoreceptors, and chemoreceptors

Class Turbellaria cont
Reproduction

Planarians are capable of asexual
reproduction via fission
Also capable of regeneration; exhibit
both anterior- posterior and lateral
polarity
They are hermaphrodites but usually
exhibit cross-fertilization
The penis of some turbellarians is
modified as a hollow stylet; sperm
tranfer is by hypodermic
impregnation, in which the
copulating partners stab each other
and inject sperm

Class Trematoda

Flukes that live as parasites either on or in other organisms.
Outer body lacks cilia; tegument has a layer of glycoproteins that are
important in protection and absorption
Possess 2 suckers:
1. Oral sucker which attaches to organs of the host
2. Ventral sucker or acetabulum; used to attach to host tissues
Types of Hosts

Often have complex life cycles that alternate between sexual and
asexual stages.
Most require at least 2 different kinds of hosts to complete their life
cycle:

1. Definitive host (primary host)
The host in which the parasite matures and reproduces (sexually)
The host in which eggs are released
2. Intermediate host
Hosts in which larval stages develop and undergo asexual
reproduction
Results in an increase in the number of the individuals

General Life Cycle - Chinese liver fluke, Clonorchis sinensis

Adults live in the bile ducts of humans, dogs, and cats
There are 2 intermediate hosts: a snail and a fish
Eggs are passed out of the definitive host and hatch as ciliated larvae
called miracidia
The miracidia penetrates a snail molluscan host and becomes a
sporocyst
They undergo asexual reproduction producing larvae called rediae
Rediae often asexually produce more rediae, but will eventually give
rise to larvae called cercariae
They leave the molluscan host and penetrate fish
They encyst in the fish tissues as the metacercaria
Consumption of infected fish results in the metacercaria excysting in
the gut and migrating to the bile duct

Schistosoma

Schistosoma spp. is a common
blood fluke of Southeast Asia that
causes shistosomiasis
Humans are the definitive host;
snails are the intermediate host
In humans its eggs ultimately
penetrates and damages intestinal
tissue and tissue of the bladder
A source of constant
inflammation and eventually
leads to deterioration of liver,
spleen and other organs

Class Cestoda

General Morphology

Nonciliated tegument composed of glycoprotein
The anterior region is called a scolex; often armed with suckers
and hooks
Extending from the neck is a
series of proglottids; contain the
sex organs and eggs; no digestive
system
Mature eggs released through
an opening in the proglottid or
leave the host when the
proglottids are separated from
the main body of the worm.

Beef Tapeworm, Taeniarhynchus saginatus

Definitive host humans; intermediate host cattle
Eggs are shed with human feces; infected persons defecate in a
pasture and the eggs are ingested by cattle
Eggs hatch giving rise to oncosphere larvae that bore into the
intestinal wall and get into the circulatory system to be transported to
muscle
Here the larvae develop into the cysticercus stage (=the bladder
worm) with the inverted scolex
If uncooked beef is consumed the cysticercus is freed and the
scolex everts, forming the adult
Symptoms include loss of weight, chronic indigestion, diarrhea