13

IGCSE BIOLOGY

Excretion in Humans
Syllabus Statements
 What are the five major waste
products produced by your cells?
• Carbon Dioxide
• Water
• Salts (minerals)
• Urea
• Heat
 What is excretion?
• The removal of metabolic wastes produced
by the body cells

How is excretion different from egestion?

• Egestion – the removal of the wastes of
digestion – FAECES
 Types of metabolic wastes
Wastes Produced from
Carbon Dioxide Aerobic Respiration
Water Aerobic Respiration
Salts Metabolic activities
Nitrogenous wastes Breakdown of excess Amino
Acids & Proteins

Types of nitrogenous wastes Toxicity

Ammonia (NH3) Highly Toxic
Urea Moderately Toxic
Uric Acid Crystals Minimally Toxic
 Soluble vitamins
Nitrogen waste

Mineral salts Excretory

Products

Bile salts and Excess water

pigments
Carbon dioxide
and water
 How is the circulatory system
connected to excretory system?
 How is the circulatory system
connected to excretory system?

Answer: circulatory system transports

metabolic wastes from body cells to various
excretory organs
 Human excretory organs

Main Accessory
excretory excretory
organs organs

Skin
Lungs
Kidneys (sweat Liver
(alveoli)
glands)

Metabolic wastes and what they are removed by:

– CO2- lungs,
– H2O - skin, kidney, lungs
– salts - skin, kidney
– ammonia - liver
– urea – excreted by kidney, formed in liver from excess a.a.
Waste removal
Several organs are important in removing waste from the body.

The lungs remove

The liver
carbon dioxide.
converts excess
protein into urea.
The skin provides
a surface for small
amounts of water The kidneys
and salt to move remove unwanted
out of the body. substances such
as urea, excess
water and salt.

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 How does the Skin aid in the removal
of wastes?

• Sweat: removal of
water, salt, and
heat
• ~2 to 5 million
sweat glands

Sweat Gland Blood Vessels

 How do the Lungs aid in the removal
of wastes?
• Exhalation
• Excretes water, CO2, and heat
 How does the LIVER aid in the removal
of wastes?

Deamination - Produces urea from

breaking down amino acids
(ammonia to urea)

• Many digested food molecules absorbed into the blood in the small
intestine are carried to the liver for assimilation (when food molecules are
converted to other molecules that the body needs)
• These include amino acids, which are used to build proteins such as
brinogen, a protein found in blood plasma that is important in blood
clotting
fi
 How does the LIVER aid in the removal
of wastes?
• Excess amino acids absorbed in the blood
that are not needed to make proteins
cannot be stored, so they are broken
down in a process called deamination

• Enzymes in the liver split up the amino

acid molecules
 How does the LIVER aid in the removal
of wastes?
• The part of the molecule which contains
carbon is turned into glycogen and
stored
• The other part, which contains nitrogen,
is turned into ammonia, which is highly
toxic, and so is immediately converted
into urea, which is less toxic
• The urea dissolves in the blood and is
taken to the kidney to be excreted
• A small amount is also excreted in sweat
Definition: the removal of nitrogen-containing
part of amino acids to form urea
 Question
Which human excretory structure aids in the
maintenance of normal body temperature?

1)Urinary bladder
2)Nephrons
3)Liver
4)Sweat glands
 What are the major organs of the
urinary system?

4. Kidneys – produce urine

2. Ureters – carries urine
from kidneys to bladder
3. Bladder – stores urine
1. Urethra – releases urine
 Excretory system
The renal vein The renal artery
carries cleaned carries ‘dirty’
blood away from blood (with
the kidneys waste) into the
The kidneys kidneys
remove urea and Ureters are tubes
other waste which carry urine
The bladder is a to the bladder
bag that stores
urine The sphincter is a
The urethra is a ring of muscle
tube which that keeps the
carries urine out bladder closed
of your body until you go to the
toilet
How do the Kidneys aid in the removal
of wastes?
• Produce urine and
regulate water/salt
balance in the blood.

• **major organ of the

excretory system**
What are the different parts of a kidney?

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 Class Activity

1) Draw a labelled
- structure of a kidney

2) answer questions 1 - 5 on page 262

What is the major filtering unit of the
kidney?

The Nephron

Each kidney is
made of 1 million
nephrons to filter
the blood
How does the kidney work?

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 How the Nephron Works
• Bowman’s Capsule & • The capsule will take
Loop of Henle out water, amino
acids, glucose, salts,
and urea.
Bowman
Capsule • The Loop of Henle
will reabsorb the
amino acids, glucose
Glomerulus Ascending
Descending Loop and, salt. (makes
Loop urine concentrated)

■ http://video.about.com/surgery/Kidney-Transplant.htm
 Description/Function
B
A Tiny ball of capillaries located at the beginning of
each nephron (site of filtration)
A
Glomerulus
B Cup-shaped portion of the nephron that surrounds
the glomerulous (site of filtration)
Bowman’s Capsule
C Site of Reabsorption and Secretion

Loop Of Henle
D All remaining substances in the nephron enter
here; Filtrate is now called Urine (Excretion)
Collecting Duct E D
E Transports unfiltered blood to the kidney;
enables diffusion/active transport of
substances into/out of nephron; Transports
filtered blood back to the heart C
Blood Vessels
 Nephron
Blood Processing:
1)Filtration:
Arteries transport blood to the
kidney (nephron)

• Urea, water, Glucose, and

salts (minerals) are
filtered out by diffusion/
active transport
Will blood cells and
proteins be filtered
into the nephron? No!! Way
too Big!!!
Nephron
Blood Processing:

2) Reabsorption:
Substances still needed by the
body are removed from the
filtrate and re-enter the blood
via diffusion/active transport

Ex: glucose, water, minerals

(NOT urea)
Nephron
Blood Processing:

3)Secretion:
Kidneys remove certain
substances from the blood
and add them to the filtrate.
Ex: Salts, Water
Nephron
Blood Processing:

4)Excretion:
Urine has been formed! Will
be moved to the bladder to
be excreted from the body
 Question

Which sequence represents the correct

pathway for the removal of urine from
human body?

1)Kidney-ureter-urinary bladder-urethra
2)Kidney-urethra-urinary bladder-ureter
3)kidney-urinary bladder-ureter-urethra
4)kidney-urinary bladder-urethra-ureter
 Answer

1)Kidney-ureter-urinary bladder-urethra
 Class Activity

1) Draw figure 13.6

2) answer questions 6 - 9 on page 266

 IGCSE BIOLOGY

Homeostasis
Syllabus Statements
 What is Homeostasis?
Homeostasis - involves
maintaining a constant
environment in the body

• Homeostasis makes sure our body has

the correct levels of.......
Temperature Water Oxygen
Carbon
Blood sugar
dioxide
Why is homeostasis important?
Enzyme activity – Enzymes operate best over a specific
range of conditions. By maintaining pH and temperature in
the body all enzyme-linked reactions proceed efficiently.

Cell size – Changes in the water potential of the blood will

affect the amount of water in the tissue fluid and cells. This
could cause animal cells to desiccate, or swell and burst.

Independence from external

conditions – Animals with a
constant internal environment can
maintain a constant level of activity
regardless of their environment.

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Negative feedback
To maintain their internal environment organisms need a self
regulating mechanism. In most animals this is achieved by
negative feedback.
Negative feedback works by initiating corrective mechanisms
whenever the internal environment deviates from its normal
or acceptable level.

It works in the following way:

◦ if the level of something rises, control systems are switched
on to reduce it again
◦ if the level of something falls, control systems are switched on
to raise it again

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Controlling blood glucose concentration

Blood glucose levels are controlled by a negative feedback

mechanism involving the production of two hormones - insulin
and glucagon
Both hormones which control blood glucose concentration are
made in the pancreas
Insulin is produced when blood glucose rises and stimulates liver
and muscle cells to convert excess glucose into glycogen to
be stored
Glucagon is produced when blood glucose falls and stimulates
liver and muscle cells to convert stored glycogen into glucose to
be released into the blood

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Controlling blood glucose concentration

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Diabetes – type 1
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder that affects the body’s ability
to regulate blood glucose levels. There are two different types
– type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-

dependent diabetes, normally occurs
suddenly in childhood.

The body is not able to produce its own

insulin. This is thought to be caused by
the immune system attacking the insulin-
producing beta cells.

Type 1 diabetes can be controlled with regular insulin injections

and the careful management of diet and exercise.

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What happens if glucose is not regulated?
If the body does not regulate blood glucose concentration,
it can become too high or too low, causing serious problems.

Hyperglycaemia occurs when the blood glucose concentration

becomes too high. This can lower the water potential of the
blood, which can create osmotic problems that can cause
dehydration. Symptoms include thirst, frequent urination,
glucose in the urine and ultimately coma.

Hypoglycaemia occurs when the blood glucose

concentration becomes too low. This can result in cells
being deprived of energy. Symptoms include nausea, loss
of concentration and ultimately coma.

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Negative feedback

Thermoregulation: an example of a negative feedback loop

body temperature corrective

increases mechanisms

normal body normal body

temperature temperature

body temperature corrective

decreases mechanisms

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Skin cross-section

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Regulating Temperature

• Regulation is controlled by the brain which contains

receptors sensitive to the temperature of the blood
• The skin also has temperature receptors and sends
nervous impulses to the brain via sensory neurones
• The brain responds to this information by sending nerve
impulses to effectors in the skin to maintain the temperature
within a narrow range of the optimum, 37°C
• Fatty tissue under the dermis acts as a layer of insulation to
prevent too much body heat being lost through the skin

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Vasoconstriction and Vasodilation

• When we are cold, blood ow in capillaries slows down

because arterioles leading to the skin capillaries get
narrower - this is known as vasoconstriction
• This reduces the amount of heat lost from blood by
radiation as less blood ows through the surface of the
skin
• When we are hot, blood ow in capillaries increases
because blood vessels to the skin capillaries get wider -
this is known as vasodilation
• This cools the body as blood (which carries heat
around the body) is owing at a faster rate through the
skin’s surface and so more heat is lost by radiation

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fl
fl
fl
fl
Negative feedback in the body (hot)

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Negative feedback in the body (cold)

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Negative feedback in the body

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Kidney Stones
 Kidney Stones
What Causes It?
Not drinking enough water to
dilute the minerals/salts
being filtered out
What is it?
Urine is extremely concentrated
forming crystallized stones which
can block the urinary tract

How do you treat it?

Some pass through the urinary tract,
surgery, shock wave therapy
 Who gets kidney stones?
• For unknown reasons, the number of people in
the United States with kidney stones has been
increasing over the past 20 years.
• White Americans are more prone to develop
kidney stones than African Americans.
• Stones occur more frequently in men.
• Kidney stones strike most typically between the
ages of 20 and 40.
• Once a person gets more than one stone, others
are likely to develop.
 Kidney Failure
What Causes It?
Traumatic injury, Drugs/Toxins, Infection,
high blood pressure, and diabetes

What is it?
Low rate of filtration;
nephron’s are not working
properly in both kidneys

How do you treat it?

Dialysis; Kidney Transplant
 Question
In humans, which substance is normally
excreted through both alveoli and
nephrons?

1)Water
2)Ammonia
3)Glucose
4)Uric acid
Which sample?

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The Urinary System

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The Nephron

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 The Nephron
C D
B
A E

F
 Class Activity

1) Draw figure 13.9 & 13.14

2) answer questions 11 & 15 on page 269 &

270
 Formative Assessment - Project
1. Choose any of the organ system //concepts (nervous
system; circulatory system; endocrine system; excretory
system; respiratory system; reproductive system) learned
in Year 10.
2. Create an informational poster using a Manila card//ant
papers.
3. Labelled diagrams and simple explanations are encouraged.
4. You will be given time until 21/06/2023 to complete this
project work.
5. 10% will be awarded based on your creativity and content.
6. Any submission later than 21/06/2022, no marks will be
awarded.