what is another name for nephridia?
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what is another name for nephridia,
Definition of nephridium
The nephridia are a series of tube-shaped coiled organs within an earthworm’s body that it uses to excrete waste. You can find nephridia in earthworms along nearly every segment on their bodies.
If you look at a nephridia diagram, you will see a pore that opens to the exterior of the body, a bladder that holds the collected waste until it’s expelled, a coiled tubule that transports the waste to the bladder and a ciliated funnel that uses fine cilia to trap and begin transporting the waste. The ciliated funnel is also known as the nephrostome.
Other Words from nephridium
Medical Definition of nephridium
an excretory organ that is characteristic of various coelomate invertebrates (as annelid worms, mollusks, brachiopods, and some arthropods), occurs paired in each body segment or as a single pair serving the whole body, typically consists of a tube opening at one end into the coelom and discharging at the other end on the exterior of the body, is often lengthened and convoluted, and has glandular walls.
Nephridium
nephridium, unit of the excretory system in many primitive invertebrates and also in the amphioxus; it expels wastes from the body cavity to the (usually aquatic) exterior. The evolution of nephridia encouraged tissue specialization by eliminating the need for all cells of an organism to be in contact with seawater for diffusion of metabolic wastes.
The nephridia occur in all segments of earthworm exceptthe first two segments. The three types of nephridia are found in earthworm according totheir location. They are distinguished on the basis of being enter one phric (nitrogen waste expelled input)and exonephric (nitrogen waste discharged outside directly).
The Enteronephric Type of Nephridial System in the Genus Tonoscolex
The nephridia are of three kinds: the enteronephric septal nephridia, the exonephric integumentary nephridia, and the enteroriephric pharyngeal nephridia. There are twenty-four to thirty septal nephridia in each of those segments where they are best developed, these nephridia being much larger in size than the septal ruicronephridia of Pheretima. The pharyngeal nephridia form a cylindrical bunch around the oesophagus in the sixth segment and open into the pharynx in front by a large number of ducts. The integumentary nephridia are extremely minute and open singly on the body-wall.
The elaborate system of septal excretory canals and supraintestinal ducts characteristic of the septal nephridial systems of Pheretima, Lampito, and Woodwardiella, does not exist in Tonoscolex. The system in Tonoscolex is therefore much simpler and probably more primitive, and may represent an intermediate stage between the purely exonephric rneganephridia of Lumbricus and the elaborate enteronephric system of Pheretima, Lampito, and Woodwardiella.
Septal Nephridia
The Septal Nephridia of earthworm are ‘responsible for excretion’.
The septal nephridia are the largest nephridia present in an earthworm and are present on both sides of each intersegmental septum after the 15th segment. There are 40-50 septal nephridia present in each septum and they are arranged in two rows. As a result, each septum gets 80-100 septal nephridia.
It consists of 3 main parts:
1. Nephridiostome: It is also called Nephrostome. It is funnel-shaped and externally ciliated, opening into the coelomic cavity. It consists of a mouth-like opening, which is surrounded by a larger upper lip and smaller lower lip.Due to the continuous movement of cilia all the nitrogenous substances of the coelomic fluid are absorbed in the nephridium.
2. Body: It represents the main part and remains coiled around its axis.
3. Terminal duct: It is the end part of the main body. All the terminal ducts of a segment further, open into the septal excretory duct. Septal excretory duct collects the excretory products from the body and transfers them to a pair of the supra-intestinal excretory duct.
1. The earthworm is ureotelic because its nitrogenous waste matter consists of 40% urea, 20% ammonia, 40% amino acid and other nitrogenous compounds.
2. Pharyngeal nephridia- They are found as pairs and lie one pair in each of the 4th, 5th, and 6th segments. They are similar to septal nephridia in structure but they lack nephrostomes.
3. Integumentary nephridia: They are attached to the inner side of the body wall from 7th to the last segment.
A typical septal nephridium consists of a) nephrostome, b) neck c) body of nephridium, and d) terminal duct.
1. Nephrostome
- Known as a ciliated funnel or nephridiostome.
- Proximal funnel-shaped structure of the nephridium lying in the coelom.
- It consists of an elliptical pore bounded by the so-called upper and lower lips.
- The upper lip is formed of a large central cell and 8 or 9 marginal cells.
- The lower lip is formed of 4 to 5 compact cells.
- All the cells are ciliated.
2. Neck
- The nephrostome leads into a short and narrow ciliated canal forming the neck.
- It joins the nephrostome to the body of nephridium.
3. Body of nephridium
- Consists of 2 parts, a short straight lobe and a long-twisted loop with a narrow apical part.
- Straight lobe length is one half of the twisted loop.
- The twisted loop is formed by 2 limbs – the proximal and distal limb.
- Both limbs are twisted spirally around each other, the number of twists varies from 9 to 13.
- The neck of the nephridium and terminal duct join together and remain connected with the proximal limb of the twisted loop.
- While distal limb becomes straight lobe.
- Internally nephridium is made of connective tissue matrix having long coiled nephridial duct forming loops.
- There are 4 parallel tubules in the straight lobe, 3 in the basal part and 2 in the apical part of each limb of the twisted loop, and a single tubule in each of the neck and terminal duct.
- 2 canals of the straight lobe out of 4 are ciliated line ciliated canal of the neck.
4. Terminal duct
- The distal limb of the body of nephridium ends in a short and narrow duct, called the terminal duct.
- It joins the nephridium with the septal excretory canal.
Integumentary Nephridia
In each segment of the body from 7th to the last segment, numerous nephridia are found attached inside the lining of the body wall. These are called integumentary nephridia which are about 200-250 in each segment except the segment of the clitellar region where they number 2,000-2,500 in each segment.
These nephridia are small-sized, without nephrostome and without any opening into the coelom.
Hence, they are called closed type of nephridia. Each integumentary nephridium is V-shaped with a short straight lobe and a twisted loop, its lumen has two ciliated canals. Each nephridium opens by a nephridiopore on the outer surface of the body wall directly. Since the integumentary nephridia discharge the excretory wastes directly outside, hence, they are called exonephric nephridia.
pharyngeal nephridia
- Occurs as paired tufts on either side of pharynx and esophagus in the 4th, 5th, and 6th segments.
- The tufts of pharyngeal nephridia also contain blood glands.
- Each nephridium is bout the size of a septal nephridium but is of the closed type having no funnel or nephrostome.
- It has a short straight lobe and a spirally twisted loop; its lumen has ciliated canals.
- In each tuft, the terminal ducts of all tubules join to form a single thick-walled common duct.
- Thus, there are 3 pairs of common pharyngeal nephridial ducts, which run anteriorly parallel to the ventral nerve cord.
- Ducts of the 6th segment open into the buccal cavity, while those of the 4th and 5th open into the pharynx.
- The nephridia also discharge their wastes into the alimentary canal and are, enteronephric.
- But such enteronephric nephridia which opens into the anterior region of the alimentary canal (buccal cavity and pharynx) are called peptonephridia.
- Recently it has been reported that pharyngeal nephridia produce a variety of enzymes like amylase, chymosin, prolinase, prolidase, dipeptides, aminopeptidase, etc. which hydrolyze foodstuffs.
- Thus, such nephridia work like salivary glands.
pharyngeal nephridia
Finally, the pharyngeal nephridia appear in pairs alongside the pharynx of the earthworm within the alimentary canal. Though these nephridia are similar in size to the septal nephridia, they lack a ciliated funnel. Researchers have found that in some species, these nephridia contain digestive enzymes and potentially function in a similar fashion to salivary glands.
The decaying organic matter that earthworms feed on contains nutrients vital to plant survival, but the plants cannot utilize the nutrients in that form. During the digestion and excretion process, earthworms convert those nutrients into useable forms and return them back to the soil, creating a healthier environment for plant life and improving the ecosystem. They indirectly improve the health of plants through their excretory system and directly provide prey to numerous animal species.
what is Nephridia in biology?
The nephridium (plural nephridia) is an invertebrate organ which occurs in pairs and performs a function similar to the vertebrate kidney. Nephridia remove metabolic wastes from an animal’s body. They are present in many different invertebrate lines.
What is Protonephridia and Metanephridia?
Protonephridia are composed of many flame cells that are ciliated cells used in excretion.Metanephridia are composed of cells that have an internal opening known as nephrostomes and an external opening known as nephridiopore. Nephridia are important structures in excretion.
Earthworm Behavior
Earthworms burrow through the soil searching for food. Their burrowing actions create small tunnels in the ground that help aerate the soil and transport nutrients to the roots of the plants in an ecosystem.
Earthworms feed on dead and decaying organic matter in the soil, such as fallen leaves. As the organic matter moves through the worm’s digestive system, the worm converts some of the nutrients it doesn’t use itself into forms that plants can absorb. They expel these nutrients through their excretory system.
