English: Paramecium diagram. The parts are as follows: 1) food vacuoles 2) micronucleus 3) oral groove 4) gullet 5) anal pore 6) contractile vacuole 7) macronucleus 8) cilia. Paramecium move by executing a whiplash movement with the cilia. The cilia also function to help the organism gather food by using them to sweep prey organisms through the oral groove, and into the gullet. When enough food has been stored in the gullet, a food vacuole forms, which begins at the back end near the gullet, and moves to the front. As the vacuole travels to the front, enzymes from the cytoplasm enter and digest the food. The vacuole shrinks as the food digests. When the vacuole reaches the anal pore, the nutrients have already been secreted, so the vacuole explodes and leaves the organism through the anal pore. The contractile vacuole works to maintain the proper amount of water in the cytoplasm. Paramecium are adaptive to many environments due to the diastole and systole movements of the contractile vacuole, which either let in or expel water from the cytoplasm depending on the environment. The micronucleus and macronucleus together contain all of the genetic information for the organism. The macronucleus is the center of metabolic activity and cell function, while the micronucleus holds genetic information for future use. When the organism is ready to reproduce, genes are moved to the macronucleus from the micronucleus, and then begin the reproductive cycle. Reference image found here http://tyllerblack.wikispaces.com/Page+5+Chapter+19.