PRESIDIUM INDIRAPURAM

Students Handout-4
GRADE X (BIOLOGY)
CHAPTER: LIFE PROCESSES
TOPIC: EXCRETION

It is a process of removal of the various toxic waste products from the body, produced in
the different metabolic processes, undergoing inside the body of an organism,. It eliminates
solid, liquid and gaseous waste products produced in the metabolism and thus maintains the
relative constancy of the body's internal environment without which life is impossible.

Organs of excretion: - The chief organs of excretion include: -

1. Skin: - It excretes out various dissolved salts along with surplus water from the body.
The process takes place through the minute microscopic pores of the skin mainly in
the form of sweat and is referred to as perspiration.
2. Lungs: - These expel out the gaseous wastes like carbon dioxide produced during the
cellular respiration in the body through the process referred to as expiration.
3. Large intestine: - It excretes out the solid wastes like undigested components of the
food material produced during the process of digestion. These excreted or defecated
out through the anus.
4. Kidneys: - These excrete out nitrogenous wastes produced in the body like ammonia,
urea and uric acid during various metabolic processes. These are excreted out mainly
in the form of urine.

EXCRETORY SYSTEM IN HUMANS

The excretory system in human beings includes a pair of kidneys, a pair of ureters, a urinary
bladder, and a urethra. This is also known as the urinary system.
 KIDNEY- Kidney is an excretory organ present in the human body. Kidneys act as
excretory organs and also control the balance of water and mineral ions in the body.
 URETERS - They are the thin muscular tubes coming out from each kidney which
opens into the urinary bladder. Ureters are ducts which drain out urine from the
kidneys.
 URINARY BLADDER – It is a pear shaped reservoir that stores urine before being
discharged to the outside.
 URETHRA – It is a muscular tube that arises from the neck of the bladder and
conduts the urine to the outside through a opening at its end, the urinary opening.
KIDNEY

The human kidneys are reddish brown-paired structure, which lie along the posterior side of
the abdominal wall on either side of the vertebral column. The outer surface of each kidney is
convex while the inner one is concave. The inner concave surface of each kidney has a notch
called hilum. Inner to the hilum is a broad funnel shaped space called the renal pelvis from
which the ureter arises. The longitudinal section of kidney shows two main regions, the outer
cortex and inner medulla:
 Cortex- The dark outer region is called cortex The cortex contains uriniferous tubules
or nephron, which manufacture the urine.
 Medulla- The lighter inner zone is called medulla. The medulla contains conical
projections called renal pyramids containing tubules, which carry urine from nephron
to the pelvis of the kidney. From this region,the urine is taken to the urinary bladder
through a long tuber called ureters.
 The renal artery brings in the uncleaned blood containing waste substances into the
Kidney. The renal artery branches and rebranches and forms a number of afferent
arterioles. One such arteriole enters each Bowman’s capsule and divide into network
of capillaries forming a knot like mass called as Glomerulus.
 The glomerular capillaries reunite to form efferent arteriole which comes out of
glomerulus. It then forms moves towards PCT and form a secondary network of
capillaries that surrounds the PCT, Loop of henle and DCT for selective reabsorption
and secretion. These then join together to finally unite to the renal vein.The renal
vein carries away the cleaned blood from the kidneys.

L.S OF KIDNEY STRUCTURE OF NEPHRON

STRUCTURE OF NEPHRON

These are considered as the excretory filteration and functional units of the Kidney. They are
also called as uniferous tubules. Each nephron is made up of :

Bowman’s Capsule - It is a thin-walled, cup-like depression and is lined by a single layer of

squamous epithelium. A knot-like mass of blood capillaries called glomerulus is located in
the concave depression of the Bowman’s capsule. The function of the glomerulus is to filter
the blood passing through it. The Bowman’s capsule and the glomerulus together are called
the Malpighian capsule or renal capsule. The renal capsule lies in the cortex.

Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT) – The bowman’s capsule leads to a tubular structure
called as proximal convulated tubule . PCT lies in the cortex. Its function is selective
reabsorbtion of the useful substances into the blood capillaries.

LOOP OF HENLE – The proximal convulated tububle leads into a hair pin shaped structure
called as the loop of henle. It has an ascending and descending limb. It also helps in selective
reabsorbtion.

DISTAL CONVULATED TUBULE – The ascending limb of loop of henle leads to the
distal convulated tubule. It is the end part of the kidney tubule. It opens into the collecting
duct. The collecting duct receives the contents of many renal tubules.The collecting tubule
pours this content as urine into the pelvis of the kidney. It function is tubular secretion of
waste substances.

COLLECTING DUCT ( in Medulla) – DCT finally opens into a collecting duct which
receives urine from the distal convulated tubules of many nephrons. It passes through the
medulla and carries urine to renal pelvis which empties into the ureter.

Each nephron maintains a close contact with the blood vessels,which are present as a
network around the renal tubule.

FORMATION OF URINE

The formation of urine can be summarised in three steps :

Glomerular filtration - When the blood enters into the glomerulus through the afferent
arteriole, a part of the water and some dissolved constituent of the blood of low molecular
weight like nitrogenous waste, glucose and mineral salts filter out through the capillary walls
into the surrounding Bowman's capsule by a process referred to as Glomerular filtration.
The efferent arteriole is narrower than the afferent arteriole which develops a
hydrostatic pressure on the blood. Thus, the blood flows through the glomerulus with a great
pressure. Due to the pressure, the liquid part of the blood filters out from the glomerulus and
passes into the Bowman’s capsule. This filtration under extraordinary force is called
ultrafiltration. This filtrate is known as the glomerular filtrate. The glomerular filtrate consists
of water,urea, salts, glucose and other plasma solutes. Blood corpuscles, proteins and other
large molecules remain behind in the glomerulus. Therefore, the blood carried away by the
efferent arteriole is relatively thick.

Selective Reabsorbtion -The glomerular filtrate entering the renal tubule contains many
useful substances. The glomerular filtrate flows on through the convoluted tubes collecting
tubule and then into the pelvis of the kidney and down the ureters into the urinary bladder. As
the filtrate flows the proximal convoluted tubule some water and physiologically important
salts like glucose, amino acids, sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate are reabsorbed into
the blood through the capillaries around this portion leaving only the wastes to be excreted
out.
Tubular Secretion - As the glomerular filtrate flows through the distal convoluted tubule,
the unwanted substances, which could not be filtered out in the glomerular are actively
secreted out by the tubular walls into the filtrate from the blood.

URINE EXCRETION

 The filtrate left after reabsorption and tubular secretion is called urine.
 The urine passes from the collecting duct to the pelvis of the kidney. From there it is
sent to the urinary bladder through the ureters.
 By relaxing the sphincters present at the opening of the urethra, the urine is expelled
from the body. This process is known as micturition or urination.

ARTIFICIAL KIDNEY

It is a device to remove nitrogenous waste products from the blood through dialysis. In case
of kidney failure, an artificial kidney can be used.The artificial kidney contains tubes with a
semi-permeable lining. These tubes are suspended in a tank filled with a dialysing
solution.This fluid contains water and glucose in concentrations similar to those in blood.
The patient’s blood is led from the radial artery through the tubes of the artificial kidney
where excess salts and urea are removed.The purified blood is returned through a vein in the
same arm. The function of dialysis is similar to the function of the kidney, but the only
difference is there is no reabsorption during dialysis.

EXCRETION IN PLANTS

Plants also produce several waste products during their life processes.

 The major waste products are water, carbon dioxide and oxygen produced during
respiration and photosynthesis.
 Plants get rid of excess water by transpiration.
 The gaseous waste of respiration and photosynthesis in plants ( carbon dioxide, water
vapour and oxygen) are removed through stomata in leaves and lenticles in stems and
released to the air.
 Many plant waste products are stored in cellular vacuoles. Waste products may be
stored in leaves that fall off, other waste products are stored as resins and gums.
 some of the plant waste which is useful to humans are – Natural rubber, gum,
resin,and essential oils like sandalwood oil, eucalyptus oil, clove oil and lavender oil.