Name Date

Mitosis, Growth, Development, and Healing in Planaria​ • Design Your Own Lab
Problem
To what extent can ​Planaria ​heal from injuries and how do their stem cells relate?

Introduction
Planarians are non-parasitic freshwater flatworms that are found all over the world. They are hermaphrodites, possessing
both testes and ovaries. They therefore can fertilize each other sexually. They can also reproduce asexually. One of their
noteworthy abilities is healing. Figure 1 shows the external anatomy of a planarian. When a planarian is cut, stem cells
collect at the site of the injury. Stem cells have the ability to differentiate into other types of cells. Stem cells that can form
any tissue in an organism’s body including tissues that surround its embryo during development are ​totipotent​. Stem cells
that can differentiate into all cell types in the body are ​pluripotent. ​Stem cells that can differentiate into some, but not all,
cell types in the body are ​multipotent.
In this lab, you will design an experiment in which you purposely cut and injure multiple ​Planaria ​to determine what
sorts of injuries they can heal from and which they can’t heal from. (Although this may sound cruel, ​Planaria ​are thought
not to be sentient beings. In other words, they are incapable of perceiving pleasure or pain due to their underdeveloped
nervous systems.) Once they are injured, we will give them time to heal while we learn about the various types of stem
cells and what each type can do. Once they’ve had enough time to heal or not, we will observe the results and apply the
stem cell concepts to interpret the results.
Materials
• spring water • dissecting microscope • small paintbrush • scalpel
• planarians • clear ruler • pipette
• petri dishes • ice cubes or lens paper • masking tape & marker

Safety
A scalpel is an extremely sharp instrument. Never hold a flatworm with your fingers while making a cut. Wash
your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before leaving the lab.

If your behavior during any point of this lab jeopardizes the safety of yourself and/or your classmates,
you will be removed from our class and given an alternative research and writing assignment.
Additionally, disciplinary action will be pursued through the Dean’s office.

1. Form a Hypothesis:​ Does the location/type of cut determine how well a planarian regenerates?
Hypothesis:

2.​ ​Determine Variables​ Decide which independent variable you will investigate—​the type​ of cut ​or​ ​the location ​of the
cut. Record your independent and dependent variables. (Experimental Question… How does ______ affect ______? )

Independent Variable:

Dependent Variable:

3. Describe Your Plan​ Record the details of your plan below, including how you
will track changes in the dependent variable. Add “cut lines” to Figure 3 to record
the cuts you made or intend to make. Also record the cuts made by any of your
group members as well as who did which cut. Don’t forget to label your control
group!
4. Organize Data

A. Control B. C.

Cuts

Day__

Day__

Day__

Day__
Analyze and Conclude
5. ​Infer​ What evidence do you have that planarians have more than one type of tissue in their bodies?

6. ​Apply Concepts ​What must happen to the stem cells before the different kinds of tissues can be regenerated?

7. ​Evaluate​ How complete was the regeneration process? Refer to the diagram of planarian anatomy in Figure 1 to help
you evaluate the results.

8. ​Draw Conclusions​ Use your results to explain why your hypothesis was supported or why it was not supported.

9. ​Analyze Data​ As a class, look at the results from all the experiments. What can you conclude about the location of
various stem cell types in a planarian’s body?

10.​ Apply Concepts ​You may know that humans can fully recover from certain injuries due to mitosis. Explain how
mitosis aids healing.

11.​ Apply Concepts​ Why can the human body heal a cut on a finger but not regenerate a finger that is cut off?