In everyday language, the term "worm" is applied to various living forms such as larvae, insects, centipedes, centipedes, and even some vertebrates. All types of worms are divided into several groups:
flatworms
Family planaria lives in fresh water. They are hermaphrodites (have both male and female sex organs). They have simple brains (ganglia) and nervous system, swept head and two eyespots. They have the ability to regenerate.
Trematodes or flukes have complex life cycles, and they live within one or more hosts. These worm species are characterized by a well-developed digestive system with a mouth at the anterior end and one or more suckers surrounding the mouth. Suckers are used to stay attached to inner surface host body.
2. Tapeworms 
Tapeworms come in all shapes and sizes. Whether they're on a rain-soaked sidewalk, in a dumpster, or on the end of a fishhook, the worms that most people know are of the segmented variety.
Nematoda have successfully adapted to almost every ecosystem from marine (salt water) to fresh water, to soils, from the polar regions to the tropics, and from the highest to the lowest altitudes. These worms are ubiquitous in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments, where they often outnumber other animals and are found in places as diverse as mountains, deserts, and ocean trenches.
4. Annelids
annelids(nereis, sea mouse, sandworm, earthworm, tubifex, leeches). 
Annelids (Annelida, from the Latin anellus, "small ring"), also known as annelids or segmented worms, are a large phylum with over 17,000 extant species, including earthworms and leeches. These worm species are adapted to different ecologies - some live in marine environments such as intertidal zones and hydrothermal vents, others in fresh water as well as wet terrestrial habitats.
earthworms
Any person inclined to work on the ground has repeatedly encountered these shiny, pinkish-brown tubular life-forms, which hastily disappeared into the comforting damp darkness of the soil. This is known to all earthworms . We note a few of their features:
- Earthworms are incredibly diverse, with about 6,000 species worldwide. Some of the most familiar species can be seen in your garden - the night crawler (it can be seen after dark), the angleworm (it's a popular fishing bait), or the earthworm.
- Of the 180 earthworm species found in the US and Canada, 60 are invasive species brought from the Old World.
- Lacking lungs or other specialized respiratory organs, earthworms breathe through their skin.
- The skin radiates a lubricating fluid that facilitates movement through underground burrows and helps keep the skin moist.
- Each earthworm is both male and female, producing both eggs and sperm. One end of their body is more sensitive to light than the other.
- Earthworms are attracted to each other by smell. These types of worms mate on the surface of the earth.
- Earthworm eggs look like tiny lemons. Newborn worms emerge from eggs very small but fully formed. They produce reproductive organs during the first 2-3 months of life and reach full size in about a year. They can live up to eight years.
- The size of these worms varies depending on the species, from less than 2 cm to almost 3 m. Such large monsters are not found in gardens. You have to go to the tropics to see them.
- In the northern states of Canada, after the last ice age, earthworms were destroyed. Therefore, modern worms living in areas washed out by glaciers are ocean invaders that were deliberately introduced by early settlers on the assumption that the worms would improve the soil.
- The earthworm's digestive system is a tube that runs straight from the front end of the body to the back where the digested material passes out. Since they mainly eat fallen leaves and soil, this allows the worms to move nutrients such as potassium and nitrogen into the soil. In addition, the movements of the worm in the ground create holes that facilitate the passage of air and loosening the soil.
- The boreal forest of the United States suffers from earthworms that quickly eat the leafy layer (duff), as a result of which nutrients become less available to young growing plants, and the soil becomes more compact instead of loosening, which negatively affects the development of these forests. Earthworms can also speed up the passage of water through forest soil, which can be useful for farmland or a garden with compacted soil, but not for such forests.
- Since the earthworm spends most of its life underground, plowing the soil and creating elaborate burrow networks (which can extend 2m or more), their bodies are basically like a tube of muscle arranged in two layers. One set of fibers runs lengthwise and the other runs widthwise like a corset around his body. Tightening the "corset" causes the worm's head to move forward. The wave of contractions then travels back over the body, squeezing the worm forward until the long muscles intercept the tail.
- Thin-skinned earthworms have no resistance to the sun's ultraviolet radiation, so daylight can be fatal and are usually only found on the surface in dull, wet weather.
- If the worm loses one end of its body it can be replaced, however if it is cut in half it dies. Contrary to popular belief, they do not become the two new worms.
- Fossil worms similar to earthworms have been found in rocks laid down 600 million years ago.
The earthworm is such a familiar creature and few people think about its great importance in nature. The contribution of earthworms to soil fertility is enormous. They break through the ground, dragging leaves and other plant debris into the soil, which allows organic matter and air to enter and seep into the water. Their activity over millions of years is vital to creating rich, fertile soils from dense, barren clays. Unfortunately, the earthworm has many enemies - almost all animals and birds - but the moth is the biggest threat as one moth can eat up to 50 earthworms in one day.
1. There are nematode worms, inside of which a unique presence of genes was found that slowed down the growth of aging by cellular level. This study has an official conclusion, so you can think about what to populate female body these hearts and queens will always be "18".
2. Spenceriella gigantea, originally from New Zealand, has amazing properties - it glows at night. Considering that the average length of such a worm reaches about one and a half meters, the light coming from it is simply incredible. This can be used instead table lamp and knit at night).
3. Driloleirus americanus is fragrant with lilies. More recently, this class was considered extinct, however, after research, scientists discovered the presence of such on earth.
4. In China, the use of hieroglyphs led to a complete change in the name of the worms. So, the earthworm depicted in the form of Chinese graphics means the angel of the earth, instead of "rain utensils."
5. Paul Hurley amazed everyone 10 years ago by conducting an experiment on himself. So, the actor carried out a promotional campaign to turn into animals. Hurley dressed up in big plastic bag and for 7 days led a "worm" life, crawling and curling like them. Why this was done and how others reacted to this is unknown to the village.
6. There is an incredible attraction in Australia. It is located in the city of Bass and has the appearance of an earthworm. The length of the swing is 100 meters. Everyone can try to ride it from above or inside, crawling on all fours and plunging into the world of worm-like ones.
It is hard to believe that scientists do not yet know absolutely everything about earthworms. It would seem that you need to know as much as possible about a creature that absolutely every person can find in their garden or vegetable garden.
But there is a lot that neither we nor scientists know about worms yet. Surprising facts are mixed with unexpected discoveries and not entirely pleasant conclusions.
Let's start with this: did you know that there are a huge number of earthworm species? The species fall into three categories, living in different soil levels and differing in their dietary habits.
Here's another no less amazing fact: It's likely that the earthworm you dug up in your garden is actually an invasive species that changes the composition and function of the soil. More on this and more below.
Variety of earthworms
There are about 6 thousand varieties of earthworms in the world.
One of the species most familiar to us is the common earthworm, a popular fishing lure. Or an earthworm crawling out to the surface after rain.
Invasive species
In northern latitudes and in regions where the relief was shaped by glaciers, most of earthworm species is "non-native". This severely damages the forest cover and native vegetation.
Respiratory system
Earthworms do not have lungs or other specialized respiratory organs, so they breathe through pores in their skin.
Movement
To move underground, the surface of earthworms must be slippery. That is why their skin exudes a special cooling emulsion that makes moving through underground burrows easier and helps keep the skin moist and slippery.
reproduction
Each earthworm is a hermaphrodite, that is, both a man and a woman, therefore, after fertilization, both worms produce offspring.
They fertilize on the surface of the earth, pressing their bodies against each other and exchanging sperm. The ring, which previously contained sperm, subsequently becomes a cocoon for the development of eggs.
Young worms emerge from eggs very tiny, but fully formed. They grow sexual organs within the first two or three months and reach their full size in a year. They can live for about eight years, but this is rare.
Regeneration
Earthworms and other earthworms are famous for being able to regrow all lost body parts. Moreover, a worm cut in half becomes two separate individuals.
Digestion
The digestive system of an earthworm is a simple tube that starts right out of the mouth and ends at the back of the body, from where environment all the digested organic material is ingested. Interestingly, even some soft stones can be digested by worms, turning them into a nourishing paste.
In addition, the movement of the worm in the ground creates burrows that improve air exchange and loosen the soil. All this is good, but not always, not for all regions and not for all types of soil.
glacial relief
During the convergence of glaciers, masses of ice and water, tending from the mountains to the lowlands, exposed the relief to the very stones. There was practically no soil and, accordingly, earthworms. That is why in some regions almost all types of earthworms can only do harm.
northern forests
The northern forest began to develop after the glaciers retreated. Therefore, there reigns an ecosystem that is not able to benefit from the work of earthworms.
These forests require a deep layer of slowly decomposing leaves, peat and other organic matter, which forms the forest soil.
When earthworms invade these forests, they digest the humus too quickly, and as a result, nutrients become less available to young, slow-growing plants, and the soil, instead of remaining loose and light, becomes denser and heavier.
The behavior of people also changes under the influence of a microbe. There is an opinion that mass infection with toxoplasma even affects the formation of values in the population (money, work, law, etc.). The most commonly observed behaviors are:
- The person's propensity for risk increases.
- Reactions to what is happening slow down.
- Increased anxiety and anxiety.
- Men lose interest in everything new.
- Women are becoming more outspoken and sincere.
There are medical studies that confirm the relationship of infection with a microbe and manifestations of paranoia and schizophrenia.
Systematization
According to the genotype, three varieties of Toxoplasma are distinguished. The first is found only in animals, the second and third in humans (and the third only in HIV-infected people).
Epidemiology
According to statistics, about 1.5 billion people on the planet are infected with Toxoplasma. Infection can occur:
The last way is the most dangerous. Depending on the gestational age, the consequences of infection may be different. In the early stages, Toxoplasma causes miscarriages and the development of malformations that are incompatible with life. At a later date, the child develops developmental anomalies, such as dropsy of the brain and others.
When infected in the third trimester of pregnancy, a latent course of toxoplasmosis is possible, which can manifest itself years later or immediately after birth.
Morphology
Endozoite
The remaining organelles are similar to those of other protozoa.
Once in the external environment, endozoites quickly die. Only by being in liquids (eg saliva, milk, urine) Toxoplasma can live for several hours. Drying, ultraviolet radiation and heating are detrimental to them.
Cystozoite
Sporozoite
Since the life cycle of Toxoplasma was elucidated only in the 70s of the last century, and many of its features still need to be clarified, there is confusion in terminology. First of all, this concerns the tissue phase. The most commonly used terms at the moment are:
- Endozoite - located inside the vacuoles of the host cell or in the cytoplasm, observed during an acute infectious process.
- Cystozoite - located inside the cysts and occurs with chronic infection.
The microbe that causes toxoplasmosis goes through four stages in its life cycle: schizogony, gametogony, sporogony, and endodiogeny. The first three (sometimes all) are only in the body of cats. The latter can take place in the body of mammals and birds (according to some sources, even reptiles).
Intestinal part of the cycle
It begins when either oocysts containing sporozoites or vegetative forms (endozoites and cystozoites) enter the cat's stomach. The latter are introduced into the cells of the epithelium and begin to divide in two (endodiogeny) or into a large number of new cells (schizogony).
Under the action of digestive enzymes, the oocyst loses its membrane. The released sporozoites invade the cells of the intestinal epithelium and begin to multiply in the same way by schizogony. About 30 merozoites are formed. This is a special type of cells that later develop into gametogonia (the sexual part of the development cycle of Toxoplasma).
Already two weeks after infection, immature germ cells - gametocytes - can be found in the intestines of a cat. Some of them give rise to micro-, the other part to macrogametocytes. The development of microgametocytes consists in successive divisions, leading to the formation of 20-30 gametes. They have an elongated shape with pointed ends. For movement use 2 flagella. The macrogametocyte does not divide. It actively accumulates nutrients, reaching a size of 10-15 microns.
The process of fusion of macro- and microgametocytes (fertilization) occurs inside the intestinal cell. The zygote forms a shell around itself, and continues to remain inside the epithelium for some time. It develops first into an ookinete and then into an oocyst. The latter leaves the host organism with feces and enters the external environment.
Due to the dense shell, the oocyst can wait for years for suitable conditions. When the temperature of air and soil, humidity and amount of oxygen become optimal, two sporocysts are formed in it, each of which contains four sporozoites. The oocyst is invasive to both cats and other animal species.
Tissue (extraintestinal) part of the cycle
In the epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract of a cat, both sexual and asexual reproduction is possible. In the tissues of the intermediate hosts, Toxoplasma increases in numbers only asexually - by dividing in two (endodiogeny) or by dividing into a large number of microbes (endopolygeny).
Infection occurs when oocysts, cystozoites or endozoites enter the body of an animal. All of them are released from the membranes (if any) and begin to actively penetrate into the intestinal epithelium or other tissues. After 3-10 hours, the membranes of the affected cells are destroyed and 10-30 endozoites come out of them, ready for invasion.
Worm infestations pose a serious danger to the child's body. Treatment must be immediate. Therefore, parents need to know which tablets for worms for children can be used without harm to health. Let's take a closer look at how to choose a medicine for a child, the main effect of medications and which drugs are the best.
How to choose the right tablets for worms for a child?
In order not to harm the child's body, it is not recommended to choose anthelmintic drugs on your own. Treatment is prescribed by a doctor based on the characteristics of the body of a small patient and the course of the invasion.
Antihelminthic drugs affect helminths in different ways. It all depends on the active substance of the medicine.
The properties of antihelminthic tablets are different, but the effect is the same for all - the elimination and elimination of pathogens of helminthiasis from the body.
The most effective drugs for treatment and prevention
Among the variety of anthelmintic tablets, there are several drugs that have practically no toxic effect on the body, and do not cause negative reactions in children. What they are called, the method of application, the main action and for what invasions they are used, we will consider in more detail.
Pirantel
Pirantel tablets can be given to children from 3 years of age. The substance needs to be chewed well, therefore, in more early age it is more expedient to offer the child syrup.
Instruction:
- children from 3 to 6 years old - 1 tablet;
- from 6 to 12 years old - 2 tablets (500 ml of the drug);
- a child from 12 years old can be given 3 tablets per dose.
The medicine belongs to the group of inexpensive, but very good anthelmintic drugs. The price in pharmacies ranges from 30 to 45 rubles. for 3 tablets (250 mg in 1 ton), depending on the manufacturer. Learn more about Pirantel.
Nemozol
The drug has a wide spectrum of action. It helps to get rid of tapeworms (bovine tapeworm, tapeworm, echinococcus) and roundworms such as pinworms and roundworms. In addition, the medicine is an antiprotozoal agent - it fights Giardia.
The average price of the drug is 165 rubles. The package contains 1 tablet (400 mg of active substance).
Treatment of worms with nemosol in children is allowed after the child is 2 years old. Previously, the use of this tool is not recommended.
Pinworms and roundworms are eliminated by a single use of 400 mg of the active substance. The dosage is the same for children and adults.
In the treatment of echinococcosis and mixed invasions, Nemozol should be taken 1 tablet 2 times a day (no more than 800 mg). The treatment lasts about a month, after which a two-week break is made, and the doctor determines further actions based on the tests. Learn more about Nemozol.
Wormil
- enterobiasis (pinworms);
- ascariasis;
- children's giardiasis;
- toxocariasis;
- migrating skin larvae;
- hookworm;
- capillariasis;
- necatorosis.
Vormil helps to get rid of hymenolepiasis (causative agent - pygmy tapeworm), strongyloidiasis (intestinal acne) and clonorchiasis (Chinese fluke infection).
The drug is prescribed for children over 2 years of age at a dosage of 400 mg (1 tablet). The duration of treatment is 3-5 days. For prevention, it is recommended to drink the course again after 21 days.
Wormil is an inexpensive, but strong substance against various helminths. The average price of tablets is 155 rubles. Learn more about Vormil.
Decaris
Decaris is a strong and very effective drug in the fight against roundworms and pinworms. It can be taken by children from 3 years of age. For this, there is a special dosage - 50 mg of the active substance in 1 tablet. At an older age (6-10 years), it is recommended to take 75 mg, and from 10 to 14 years - 75-100 mg (1.5-2 tablets).
Therapy of helminthic invasions in children is prescribed by a doctor. He calculates the exact dose of Decaris, taking into account the weight of the child, which helps to avoid side effects. Learn more about Decaris.
Piperazine
The dosage and time of taking Piperazine is calculated by a specialist. It takes into account the age of the child, and the degree of neglect of the disease.
- Up to 3 years, you can take 0.25 g 1 time per day.
- Children from 3 to 6 years old can be given 0.3-0.5 g 1 time per day.
- From 6 to 8 years, the dose is increased to 0.75 g of piperazine per day.
- From 8 to 12 years old, you can take 1 g of the active substance (2 tablets).
- From the age of 13, the daily dose is 1.5 g.
Treatment of enterobiasis and ascariasis lasts no more than 5 days. In case of infection with pinworms, therapy is recommended to be repeated after 3 weeks. Read more about Piperazine tablets.
Komarovsky about tablets from worms
A well-known pediatrician with many years of experience, Dr. Komarovsky, draws the attention of parents to the fact that the treatment of helminthic invasions in children should be thorough and comprehensive.
What to give the child with the most common invasions is decided exclusively by the doctor. Even the best medicines in one child can cause side effects and absolutely no harm to others.
Another nuance, on which Komarovsky draws the attention of parents, is that you need to drink tablets from worms in courses with certain breaks. In the intervals between taking anthelmintic drugs, vitamin complexes and enterosorbents (smecta, entegnin) are prescribed. Only in this case it is possible to clean the gastrointestinal tract from helminths as efficiently as possible and not harm the health of the child.
