Dissection

The following dissection was done in order to learn how to do further dissections as well as to find the internal and external anatomy of the common earthworm.

In order to carry along a proper dissection of a earthworm, the following materials are needed:

• specimen
• dissection tray
• dissection kit
• gloves
• protective goggles
• apron

Here is the procedure to opening and viewing the specimen.

1. Place the worm ventral side down and, with dissecting pins, pin the worm down to assure minimum movement during the dissection
2. Take a scalpel and carefully begin opening the worm from the clitellum to the mouth
3. As you cut, pin down the skin and reveal the internal organs in the "head" of the worm
4. Once you have the anterior end open, you may proceed to open the posterior end of the worm
5. It is not necessary to open the posterior end of the worm completely, since it contains the same anatomy from the clitellum to the anus
6. Once the earthworm is completely open, proceed to identify all of the internal and external anatomical structures you can find and label them

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