PLATYHELMINTHES DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Members of the phylum Platyhelminthes are flatworms, such as the planarian. Grubs and tapeworms are other examples of flatworms. Flatworms display bilateral symmetry; that is, the left and right halves of the body are mirror images of one another.
Another characteristic of the platyhelminthes is cephalization.Cephalization means that one end of the animal functions as a head. The “head” contains a mass of nerve cells that acts as a brain and specialized regions for sensing light, chemicals, and pressure.
The platyhelminthes digestive system is not as complex as the other digestive system because of the makeup of the organism. For example, because the flatworm is evenly divided into halves and has only one way to get food, through the mouth, it's stomach is shaped like a sac. The food enters the mouth and is digested into the gastrovascular cavity, and since the platyhelminthes has a gastrovascular cavity, they don't need a circulatory system for their waste. After the food goes through the gastrovascular cavity, the remaining non-digestable pieces come back out through the mouth.
Members of the phylum Platyhelminthes are flatworms, such as the planarian. Grubs and tapeworms are other examples of flatworms. Flatworms display bilateral symmetry; that is, the left and right halves of the body are mirror images of one another.
Another characteristic of the platyhelminthes is cephalization.Cephalization means that one end of the animal functions as a head. The “head” contains a mass of nerve cells that acts as a brain and specialized regions for sensing light, chemicals, and pressure.
The platyhelminthes digestive system is not as complex as the other digestive system because of the makeup of the organism. For example, because the flatworm is evenly divided into halves and has only one way to get food, through the mouth, it's stomach is shaped like a sac. The food enters the mouth and is digested into the gastrovascular cavity, and since the platyhelminthes has a gastrovascular cavity, they don't need a circulatory system for their waste. After the food goes through the gastrovascular cavity, the remaining non-digestable pieces come back out through the mouth.