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Excretion in humans
IGCSE BIOLOGY
Ms. Mutiara Arum K., M.Si.
LESSON OBJECTIVES :
• The main excretory products of humans, and where they are lost from
the body
• Describe homeostasis
• How the kidneys excrete urea and other waste substances
• How negative feedback is involved in the maintenance of constant
blood glucose concentration
• Excretory diseases

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What is Excretion?
•Excretion is the removal of toxic
materials, the waste products of
metabolism and excess materials.
•Metabolism means the chemical
processes going on in the body.
•One type of waste is not excreted from
the body - faeces! It is egested (the
removal of undigested food)

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 Substances that needed to be excreted
substance source Organ of Effect
excretion
Carbon dioxide Respiration in living cells Lungs Excess carbon
dioxide is toxic.
Urea, nitrogenous Breakdown of excess amino Kidney
waste acid by the liver
Excess salt and Food and drink Kidney and
water skin
Bile pigment, Breakdown hemoglobin liver
bilirubin

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Substances that needed to be excreted
• It is necessary for the body to rid itself of waste
products.
• It is also important to regulate the volume and
composition of body fluids.
• The excretory systems of the body do this.
• All vertebrate animals produce nitrogen waste
(urea) in one form or another. Your kidneys
filter out urea to produce urine, removing
nitrogen waste from your body.
• Kidneys also regulate water levels by excreting
different amounts of urine.
• Your lungs excrete carbon dioxide and water as
you breathe out.
• Your skin sheds excess salt through sweat.
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Composition of Urine
(what its made of)

• Water
• Urea
• NaCl (sodium chloride)
• KCl (potassium chloride)
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Formation of Urea
• Excess amino acids cannot be stored in the body.
• The liver breaks down nitrogenous compounds (amino acids
mostly).
• This is called deamination.
• This produces urea which must be removed from the body.

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 Deamination process
• The removal of an amino group from a molecule

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Deamination process
Amino acid + Oxygen 🡪 Carbohydrate + Ammonia

O
O

Toxic

Used for energy

How to get rid of toxic ammonia?
Carbon dioxide + Ammonia 🡪 Urea + water

Taken from the liver to the kidney

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 Excess Water:
• Water content in blood & body must be kept constant
• If not regulated, the cells will take up water by osmosis
– they will eventually swell up, burst and die
• When the body excretes a large amount of water the
urine is light in colour & dilute
• When the body retains a large amount of water, the
urine is dark & more concentrated

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Important Liver Breakdown in the
Functions: Liver
• Converts excess amino • Liver breaks down old red blood cells.
acids into urea –
through deamination • Alcohol, other drugs and hormones are
• Controls the amount also broken down by the liver – this is
of glucose in blood, called detoxification.
with the help of the • Prolonged use of alcohol or drugs like
hormone Insulin paracetamol can lead to liver failure.
• Stores excess • Liver also makes bile which is temporarily
carbohydrates as
Glycogen stored in the gall bladder. Bile is broken
down and added to faeces.
• Makes bile
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Where are the kidneys?

•The kidneys are a paired organ

system that are found at the
back of the abdominal cavity
just above the umbilicus (belly
button!)
•They sit either side of the
spinal column just below the
rib line, they are not
protected by the ribs and can
be damaged by a large impact
force applied to the area such
as a kick or punch.
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 Pelvis

Renal
artery
Medulla
Renal
vein
Ureter
Cortex
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 Structure of Kidney
Each kidney has four parts:
•Cortex – the outer layer jammed pack full
of filters called nephrons. Filters the blood.
•Medulla – the middle layer which has the
tubes carrying filtered wastes to the centre
of the kidney. Contains Loop of Henle
•Pelvis – area where all collecting ducts
come together and connect with ureter.
•Ureter – transports urine to the bladder.

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Function of the kidneys
• The kidneys have a vital role in homeostasis, they control the content
of the blood
• Kidneys act as filters to “clean the blood”
• They perform three main roles

1. Removal of urea from the blood

2. Adjustment of ions in the blood

Taken from the liver to
the kidney to be
filtered and excreted
3. Adjustment of the water content of the blood
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 Filtered blood leaves the
kidney through renal vein

Blood enters the kidney

from renal artery

Urine leaves kidney Nephron – the filter

through ureter
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The human urinary Kidneys = It produce urine which
system contains urea, water and mineral salts.
Aorta = “dirty” Blood enters the
kidneys at high pressure via the aorta
Vena cava = “clean” blood leaves the
kidneys and enters the vena cava.
Renal arteries and vain = help to
supply the kidney with blood
Ureters= urine flow down the ureter
into the bladder
Bladder=were urine is stored until the
sphincter muscle is released.
Urethra = urine flow out of the bladder,
through the urethra to the
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 There are roughly one million
nephrons in each kidney.

Cortex
Nephron

R. vein
Renal artery
Ureter
The unit of a kidney is the
nephron – it carries out
filtering and reabsorption. Medulla
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VIEW OF THE NEPRONE 22
 PROCESSES OF THE NEPRONE Klik

Blood is filtered
in the bowman's
capsule

Reabsorption Water levels of

of useful urine adjusted
substances at
the convoluted
tubule

To bladder
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 Renal artery FILTRATION PROCESSES OF THE
NEPRONE

Glomerulus

Bowman’s capsule
Distal
• Blood arrives
Capillaries from the renal artery.
off renal convoluted
artery tubule
• Blood enters a ball of capillaries called Glomerulus.
• Theses
Proximalcapillaries sit in a filter called the Bowman’s
convoluted tubule
or renal capsule.
• Small molecules leave the capillary and enter the
capsule – glucose, amino acids, salts, urea and water.
Loop of Henle Urine collecting duct
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 Renal artery
• The filtered blood
moves down the
nephron.
• In the convoluted
Glomerulus tubule cells reabsorb
Bowman’s capsule
the good stuff –
glucose, aminoDistalacids,
Capillaries off renal most salt andconvoluted
water.
artery tubule
• The rest – water and
urea – moves on
Convoluted or
kidney tubule through the nephron.

REABSORBTION PROCESSES
Urine collecting duct
OF THE NEPRONE
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• As the urine RELEASE OF WASTE
moves on more PROCESSES OF THE NEPRONE
water is saved in
the loop of Henle
and collecting Glomerulus
duct
Bowman’s
• This adjusts capsule
water loss to suit Convoluted
the level of water tubule
in the body.

Loop of Henle Urine collecting duct

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 Renal artery

Glomerulus

Bowman’s capsule
Distal
convoluted
Capillaries off renal tubule
artery

Proximal convoluted tubule

Loop of Henle Urine collecting duct

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 • Renal artery: brings blood to the kidneys
Contains waste products.
• Renal Vein: takes blood away from the kidneys. Purified blood
• Convoluted Tubules: reabsorption of useful substances happens
here; including Glucose, most water and some salts
• Bowman’s Capsule: This is where filtration takes place. The filtrate
contains useable & waste products
• Collecting duct: collects urine from nephrons and transports it to
the pelvis

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Imbalance in Homeostasis
• Blood sugar level of a person who has diabetes is
so high that not all the glucose in the filtrate can
return to the blood.
• Glucose in the Urine.
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 Function of the Skin
•Although the skins
main function is to
provide a protective
covering, it is also
involved in excretion
•Dissolved salt, lactic
acid & urea can exit the
body via sweat glands

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Heat Loss:
• Blood vessels in the skin open wider
• Increases the blood flow through
the skin’s capillaries (flush)
• Allows more heat to be given off to
the air
• Sweat begins to evaporate: cooling
the body
Heat Retained:
• blood vessels in the skin narrow
• body sweats less
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Kidney disease
•Diabetes causes damage to the small blood vessels
in the kidneys.
•This process slowly destroys the filters and causes
problems due to build-up of the waste products in
the blood.
•The filters start to leak out too much protein into
the urine and this can be the first sign of diabetic
kidney disease.
•High blood pressure can also cause kidney damage
itself.
•Kidney disease may also result from infection, drugs
and kidney stones while some types may run in the
family.
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Treating kidney failure
1. Kidney dialysis
•This is the process of removing waste and excess fluid
from the blood using an artificial kidney machine that
filters or washes the blood.
•Blood is collected from a vein in the arm and passes
along a tube that is semi-permeable.
•The dialysis solution on the other side of the tube has
no urea so urea passes out of the blood.
•Treatment is required three times a week, each
lasting about five hours.

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 Artery

Vein

Blood in

Blood out

Dialysis fluid

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Fresh dialysis fluid Constant temp. Used dialysis fluid
Treating kidney failure
2. Kidney transplantation
•A kidney transplant may
be considered if your
doctor feels that your
general health is good
enough to stand up to
the operation.
• You also need drugs to
suppress the immune
system after surgery. This
is needed to stop
rejection of the foreign
tissue.
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 •A donor kidney can come from a living
person (usually a blood relative such as a
parent, brother, sister or child).
•Or, from someone who has died in
hospital and permission has been given to
use their kidneys.
•The transplant kidney is placed in the
groin. Your own kidneys are not removed.
•After a transplant the person no longer
needs dialysis.
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Disadvantages of
Transplants
•A good tissue match is needed
for the donor kidney to reduce
rejection.
•Very expensive operation.
•Risk of rejection of the donor
kidney so immunosuppressant
drugs must be taken daily.
•Some religions do not allow
transplants.
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Advantages of
Transplants
•Have a normal lifestyle as
no dialysis.
•Dialysis takes several
hours in hospital three
times a week and makes
a person very tired.
•Dialysis machines are
expensive.
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