BANGLADESH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAMMAM, KSA

Grade Subject Teacher Chapter: 13 Name ID Sec

IX Biology Karim/Maryam/Shirazul EXCREION IN HUMANS
Class Notes Prepared by: Abdul Karim

Excretion is the removal of the toxic materials, waste products of metabolism and excess substances from
organisms.

Organs Excretory products Incidental Excretion related functions of

losses organ
Liver Urea,  Breaks down excess amino acids and
Bile pigments produces urea
(bilirubin)  Breakdown RBCs/Hb, produce
Bilirubin excreted through bile
Lungs CO2 H2O Get rid of products of respiration,
CO2 and H2O when breathing out.
Kidneys Urea,  Removes urea and other nitrogenous
water, salts, toxins wastes from the blood
hormones, drugs  Regulates water and salt
concentration in the blood

THE URINARY SYSTEM:

Human urinary system consist of a pair of kidneys and associated structures.

Kidneys: Two bean shaped kidneys that filter blood

Urinary bladder: An organ that stores urine

Ureter: The tubes that connect kidney to urinary bladder and carries urine

Urethra: Tube that carry urine from bladder to outside

Fig. Human Urinary System

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KIDNEYS STRUCTURE:

In humans, the kidneys are located high in the abdominal cavity, one on each side of the spine. The kidney is a bean-shaped
structure with a convex and a concave border. The area on the concave border is the renal hilum, where the renal artery
enters the kidney and the renal vein and ureter leaves the kidney.

A kidney consists of following main parts:

 Cortex (outer layer)

 Medulla
 Renal pelvis

Between the cortex and the medulla, there is a structure called the nephron.

Blood is filtered through nephron and urine is produced. Each kidney has about 1 million nephrons.
In the center of the kidney there is a cavity called the pelvis which leads to the ureter.

L.S of human kidney

STRUCTURE OF NEPHRON:

Nephron is the basic structural and functional unit of kidney.

Each nephron consist of the following parts;

1. Renal corpuscle consisting of Glomerulus and Bowman’s capsule

2. Renal tubule

The nephron has a cup shaped structure called Bowman’s capsule. Inside the Bowman’s capsule there is a very
dense network of blood capillaries called Glomerulus.
The rest of the nephron is a long coiled tube called renal tubule which can be divided into various parts.
Renal tubule is surrounded by a network of capillaries where reabsorption takes place.

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 Table: Parts of nephron
Part of nephron description
Bowman’s capsule the cup-shaped part of a nephron that surrounds a glomerulus
Renal and collects filtrate from the blood
Corpuscle glomerulus a group of capillaries within the ‘cup’ of a Bowman’s capsule
in the cortex of the kidney
proximal part of the nephron that leads from Bowman’s capsule to the
Renal convoluted tubule: loop of Henle
tubule loop of Henle the part of the nephron between the proximal and distal
convoluted tubules
distal convoluted part of the nephron that leads from the loop of Henle to the
tubule collecting duct
collecting duct tube in the medulla of the kidney that carries urine from the
distal convoluted tubules of many nephrons to the renal pelvis

Fig. Structure of Nephron

MECHANISM OF THE KIDNEY’S/NEPHRON’S FUNCTION:

I. ULTRAFILTRATION:
Arterioles (small arteries) branch off the renal artery and lead to each nephron, where they form a knot of capillaries
(the glomerulus) sitting inside the cup-shaped Bowman’s capsule
The capillaries get narrower as they get further into the glomerulus which increases the pressure on the blood
moving through them (which is already at high pressure because it is coming directly from the renal artery which is
connected to the aorta)
This eventually causes the smaller molecules being carried in the blood to be forced out of the capillaries into the
Bowman’s capsule, where they form what is known as the filtrate
Ultrafiltration is a filtration on a molecular scale. The small molecules are separated from larger molecules. E.g

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Glucose and amino acids are separated from blood cells and large proteins like fibrinogen through glomerulus.
The substances forced out of the glomerulus capillaries are: amino acids, glucose, water, urea, uric acid, ions (Na+,
Cl- etc.)

II. SELECTIVE REABSORPTION:

Selective reabsorption is the movement of certain substances from the filtrate in nephrons back into the blood.

Useful substances from filtrate will be reabsorbed back into the blood in the renal tubule of the nephron
Glucose is the first substance to be reabsorbed at the proximal (first) convoluted tubule
Glucose and amino acids are reabsorbed by active transport at Proximal Convoluted tubule.

The nephron is adapted for this by having many mitochondria to provide energy for the active transport
Reabsorption of glucose cannot take place anywhere else in the nephron as the proteins that facilitate the active
transport of glucose are only found in the proximal convoluted tubule
Vitamins and many sodium and chloride ions are also reabsorbed in Proximal Convoluted Tubule

As the filtrate drips through the Loop of Henle, necessary salts like Na+ and Cl- are reabsorbed back into surrounding
of renal tubule by active transport and then to the blood by diffusion.
Water is reabsorbed by osmosis in loop of Henle and in the collecting duct depending on how much water the body
needs at that time.
Some substance like drugs and uric acid is directly secreted from blood capillaries into the distal convoluted tubule
of nephron.
The contents of filtrate reach the collecting duct and the pelvis. This mixture is called urine

Urine is transported from the pelvis to the urinary bladder by the ureters. It is them secreted out of the body through
the urethra.

Fig. Parts of nephron and

their function

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 Table: Contents of blood, filtrate and urine

Blood Components Bowman’s Reabsorbed Components

Filtrate Substances of Urine
RBC
Cells WBC
Platelets None - -
Large proteins like albumin etc
Amino acids present Almost all None
Glucose present Almost all None
Plasma
Ions like Na+, K+ & Cl- present Almost all May be some
Urea present Some Urea
Uric acid present Uric acid
Water present Most of water Water
Creatinine present Creatinine

ROLE OF LIVER IN ASSIMILATION OF AMINO ACIDS

The liver is the largest internal organ and the largest gland in the human body.
 The liver plays a role in the production of some plasma proteins.
 Proteins that are eaten are digested by proteases into amino acids in intestine.
 Amino acids are absorbed from intestine into blood and are carried to liver.
Assimilation is the conversion of absorbed nutrients to other
 Liver cells assembles the amino acids to form proteins compounds by the cells. e.g.
 One example of such proteins is fibrinogen Glucose → glycogen (in liver)
Amino acids → polypeptides/proteins (like thrombin in liver)
 Fibrinogen is synthesized by liver cell and then secreted to blood plasma
 In case of an injury, the fibrinogen is converted into fibrin by the action of enzyme thrombin
 Fibrin is insoluble and forms a clot to prevent pathogen entry and loss of blood

Some functions of liver

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REGULATION OF AMINO ACIDS

The human body is unable to store excess of amino acids. The excess amino acids are transported from intestine to
the liver via blood.
The amine group (-NH2) and a hydrogen atom (H) are removed from the main structure of the amino acid. The
product of this reaction is ammonia (NH3). NH3 is more toxic and alkaline. It is converted to a less toxic substance
called urea; CO(NH2). The non-nitrogenous portion of the molecule is converted to carbohydrates or fats.
The removal of nitrogen containing part of amino acids to form urea is called deamination.

Deamination of amino acids in liver

TOXICITY OF UREA & EXCRETION:

Urea has traditionally been considered inert. However, recent research suggest that urea is toxic in high
concentration.
High level of urea in blood is a sign of kidney disease. This condition can be life-threatening.
Recent clinical studies show that high levels of urea can cause:
 Urea itself can induce molecular changes. One example can be changes related to insulin resistance -
that can lead to diabetes
 Other toxic compounds like ammonia and cyanate could be generated from urea
Toxicity is the
 Deposition of collagen in kidneys ability of a
substance to
 Deposition of minerals to fats in blood vessels: that can lead to heart diseases cause harmful
health effects.
 Gut bacteria may produce toxins that can cross intestine and damage kidneys
 Anemia (RBCs numbers or Hemoglobin level becomes low than normal)
Therefore it is necessary to excrete urea from the body. The best way to prevent urea toxicity is to take care of
kidney disease. Extensive care should be taken in diet and regular exercise.

. THE END …

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