Roundworms are unsegmented worms that have pseudocoeloms (false coelom) and digestive systems with two openings-a mouth and an anus.
General characteristics
Feeding:
Many free living roundworms are predators that use grasping mouth parts and spines to catch and ear other small animals
Some oil dwelling and aquatic forms eat algae, fungi, and decaying organic matter. Others digest the bacteria that break down dead animals and plants
Movement:
The muscles pf the roundworms extend the length of their bodies
Together with the pseudocoelom , these muscles function as a hydrostatic skeleton. Aquatic roundworms contract these muscles to move like snake through the water
Reproduction
Roundworms reproduce sexually and most species have spearate sexes.
Reproduce using internal fertilization
Male deposits sperm inside the female's reproductive tract
Adaption to environment:
Round worms have several types of sense organs which include simple structures that detect chemicals given off by prey or hosts.
PARASITIC roundworms
Trichinosis Causing Worms
Caused by roundworms called Trichinella
Adult worms live and mate in the intesine of their hosts. Female worms carrying fertilized eggs burrow into the intestinal wall and then release larvae
It then becomes inactive in the host's muscle tissues
Two common hosts for Trinchinella are rats and pigs
Ascarid Worms
Ascaris lumbricoides causes malnutrition in humans and other vertebrate animals by absorbing digested food
In the intestine the parasite leaves fertilized eggs with leave the body in the feces which can contaminate the water.
Young worms burrow into the walls of the intestines and enter the surrounding blood vessels, to the lungs, into the throat and then swallowed into the intestine