Recently my hometown was flooded due to heavy rainfall. Whilst looking at the rear garden under 6 inches of water i noticed a worm and the question was born.
2007-06-17 00:36:41 · 10 answers · asked by Loomy G 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
yes, worms do breathe, but not like us humans. worms are insects,so they do not have respiratory organs similar to animal ones. hell, they do not even have blood.
worms breathe in two ways. firstly, they have tiny little holes in their sides called spiracles. operated by a valve, these spiracles open and close to allow the exchange of respiratory gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide). in place of blood, they have homoselom, which carries these gases around the worm's body.
the second way they get oxygen is through their skin. worms have moist bodies, and this causes small amounts of air to be absorbed by the skin.
2007-06-17 00:46:00 · answer #1 · answered by silivren 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What you saw was probably an earthworm.
This worm breathes through the skin. The aquatic oxygen is taken in and carbon dioxide is release in the same manner through the integument. All worms resort to respiration, whether in air or in water.Those that live in the intestine as endoparasite respire anaerobically.You may be knowing that nematodes are the true worm. For example, glass worm is a reptile, and hence not a true worm.All reptiles have lungs as respiratory organ.
2007-06-17 07:52:45 · answer #2 · answered by Ishan26 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Worms absorb oxygen through their skin. The oxygen first dissolves in moisture present in the slime which covers their skin then it passes into blood vessels beneath the skin. Carbon dioxide passes out of the worm's body in the opposite direction. Worms can drown in water if there is insuffient oxygen dissol ved in it to support life.
2007-06-18 17:25:11 · answer #3 · answered by bsbeckett 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have heard that worms absorb most of the oxygen they need through their skin. although all living things need to breathe maybe this is thier way of breathing or maybe they do have lung to breathe because although i would like to belive that worms are alot smarter than they look to be able to absorb the oxygen they need through their skin every 30mins they also would need lungs to store it in.
2007-06-17 08:24:33 · answer #4 · answered by laura h 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Worms like all living organisms breathe...
like many smaller organisms, they breathe through their skin... crazy as it might sound.
They can do this due to their large Surface area to volume ratio.
2007-06-17 07:48:04 · answer #5 · answered by Mr singh 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. As far as I know, they absorb all the oxygen they need through their skin. That is why they have to stay moist - moisture enables more diffusion to take place across their skin so they can absorb more oxygen.
2007-06-17 07:44:30 · answer #6 · answered by Yates 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes worms have to breath like any other livin thing, but they only have to breath around every 30 mins.
2007-06-17 07:39:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they do.
Every single living organism has the following characteristics...as you can see, respiration is on the list, however the animal does it (aerobically, anaerobically etc) the animal needs to breathe.
GROWTH
REPRODUCTION
IRRITABILITY
MOVEMENT
NOURISHMENT
EXCRETION
RESPIRATION
2007-06-17 07:38:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh god I hope not I would hate to have to give one the kiss of life...uugghh!!
2007-06-17 07:56:04 · answer #9 · answered by granpabear 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course they do. How do you think they are surviving. lol
2007-06-17 07:49:56 · answer #10 · answered by Black 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋