How do organisms such as cockroaches and earthworms breathe? Do they have breathing organs like that in humans or do they have other structures for breathing?
Answers
Answer:
Earthworms do not have lungs. They breathe through their skin. Oxygen and carbon dioxide pass through the earthworm's skin by diffusion.
Cockroaches have very efficient breathing system that uses air filled tubes, called trachea, to deliver oxygen directly to cells. Oxygen flows in as required into the tracheal system through valves on the insect, called spiracles. But, sometimes, they shut their spiracles and stop breathing.
Required Answer:-
Organisms like cockroaches and earthworms are lower organisms and their body size is far smaller as compared to that of human body. Now the question arises, How they respire or breathe using respective organs?
In Cockroaches:-
Refer to the attachment. Cockroaches perform tracheal respiration which involves the spiracle, trachae, tracheoles, etc. Without the use of blood, the air is transported throughout the body.
They have 10 pairs of spiracles (opening in their body where the oxygen gets in) : 2 pairs in the thorax and 8 pairs in the abodomen. It then goes to the atrium and then trachae where it is further distributed
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In Earthworms:-
You might have observed this organism with slimy and slippery worm body in your garden mostly during the monsoon. They perform cutaneous respiration which is through their moist skin.
The air enters through simple diffusion and diffuses out in the same manner. Here, Blood serves as a medium of transportation of these respiratory gases.
