Excretion in humans

IGCSE BIOLOGY
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)

10/25/2023 2
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

10/25/2023 3
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.
10/25/2023 4
The human urinary system Kidneys = It produce urine which
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
10/25/2023 environment 5
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.

10/25/2023 6
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

3. Adjustment of the water content of the blood

10/25/2023 7
 Filtered blood leaves the
kidney through renal vein

Blood enters the kidney

from renal artery

Urine leaves kidney Nephron – the filter

through ureter
10/25/2023 8
 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.

10/25/2023 9
 Pelvis

Renal
artery
Medulla

Renal
vein
Ureter
Cortex
10/25/2023 10
 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
10/25/2023 11
VIEW OF THE NEPRONE
 PROCESSES OF THE NEPRONE
Blood is filtered
in the bowman's
capsule

Reabsorpti Water levels of

on of useful urine adjusted
substances
at the
convoluted
tubule
To bladder
10/25/2023 12
 Renal artery
FILTRATION PROCESSES OF THE
NEPRONE

Glomerulus

Bowman’s capsule
Distal
• Blood arrives
Capillaries from the renal artery.
off renal convoluted
• Blood
artery tubule
enters a ball of capillaries called Glomerulus.
• Theses capillaries
Proximal convoluted sit in a filter called the Bowman’s
tubule
or renal capsule.
• Small molecules leave the capillary and enter the
capsule – glucose, amino acids, salts, urea and
Loop of Henle Urine collecting duct
10/25/2023
water. 13
 Renal artery
• The filtered blood
moves down the
nephron.
• In the convoluted
Glomerulus
tubule cells reabsorb
Bowman’s capsule the good stuff –
glucose,Distal
amino acids,
Capillaries off renal most saltconvoluted
and water.
artery tubule
• The rest – water and
Convoluted or urea – moves on
kidney tubule through the nephron.
REABSORBTION PROCESSES OF
Urine collecting duct
THE NEPRONE
10/25/2023 14
 • As the urine moves RELEASE OF WASTE
on more water is PROCESSES OF THE NEPRONE
saved in the loop of
Henle and collecting
duct Glomerulus
• This adjusts water
loss to suitcapsule
Bowman’s the level of
water in the body. Convoluted
tubule

Loop of Henle Urine collecting duct

10/25/2023 15
 Renal artery

Glomerulus

Bowman’s capsule
Distal
Capillaries off renal convoluted
artery tubule

Proximal convoluted tubule

Loop of Henle Urine collecting duct

10/25/2023 16
 • 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

10/25/2023 17
Composition of Urine
(what its made of)

• Water
• Urea
• NaCl (sodium chloride)
• KCl (potassium chloride)

10/25/2023 18
 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.

10/25/2023 19
 Deamination process
• The removal of an amino group from a molecule

10/25/2023 20
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

10/25/2023 to be filtered and excreted 21
 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

10/25/2023 22
Important Liver Breakdown in the Liver
Functions:
• 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
10/25/2023 23
 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

10/25/2023 24
 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.
10/25/2023 25
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.

10/25/2023 26
 Artery

Vein

Blood in

Blood out

Dialysis fluid

10/25/2023 27
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.
10/25/2023 28
 • 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.

10/25/2023 29
 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.
10/25/2023
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.
30