MERRYLAND INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, GRADE 9

NOTES ON EXCRETION

EXCRETION

Excretion is the removal of metabolic wastes, toxic materials and excess substances from the body.

What are metabolic wastes?

Metabolic wastes are substances left over

from the metabolic processes (such as
cellular respiration) which cannot be used
by the organism (they are in excess or
toxic), and must therefore be excreted.

EXCRETORY ORGANS

SKIN: removal of heat and excess water

with tiny amounts of urea, salts, ammonia
and sugar.

LUNGS: removal of carbon dioxide that

are formed in the cells as part of metabolic
reactions.

LIVER: formation of urea from excess

amino acids occurs in liver.

KIDNEYS: removal of urea (formed in the

liver), excess water and other waste
products in the form of urine.

EXCRETORY PRODUCTS

Humans have three main excretory products: carbon dioxide, urea and water

(i) CARBON DIOXIDE: It is made in the body tissues during respiration. From there it is carried
through the blood plasma to the lungs, where it gets diffused out into the alveoli and then to
the air.

(ii) UREA: It is made in the liver from excess amino acids. Amino acid first gets deaminated and
the product ammonia combines with carbon dioxide to form urea. From here it is carried
through the blood plasma to the kidneys, where it gets filtered out in the form of urine.

(iii) WATER: It is made in the cells as a result of respiration. Excess water is filtered out from the
blood through the kidneys. Water also escapes from the skin in the form of sweat.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF EXCRETION

It is a vital process in the metabolism of the body. Excretion plays a major role in:

Removal of toxic waste materials: CO2 and urea if not expelled out from the body, it will reach a
toxic level and destroy the tissue.
Osmoregulation

pH regulation

Water & salt content in blood & body must be kept constant:

Too much water: the cells will take up water by osmosis - they may eventually swell up and burst

Too much salt: the cells will lose water by osmosis – they may shrink (crenation) and die.

FORMATION OF UREA IN THE LIVER

The protein which we take in along with

food is digested in the alimentary canal.
The breakdown products of proteins –
amino acids - are absorbed into the blood
in the small intestine. From blood they
enter liver cells were deamination occurs.
Since the body cannot store amino acids,
it is broken down into two parts, one of
which is ammonia (NH3). This process is
called deamination. Ammonia combines
with carbon dioxide to form urea.

Deamination: Breakdown of excess

amino acid into ammonia.

ASSIMILATION IN THE LIVER

The movement of simple molecules into the body cells where they are used is called assimilation. All
the blood from the digestive system flows to the liver first before going into the rest of the circulation
through hepatic portal vein. Hepatic portal vein is a vein conveying blood to the liver from the spleen,
stomach, pancreas, and intestines.

The liver carries out a number of important functions in our body as part of assimilation:

(i) Stores glucose by removing it from the blood and storing it as glycogen. Thus playing a major role
in blood glucose regulation.
(ii) Uses amino acids to make proteins, such as plasma proteins, e.g. fibrinogen
(iii) Breaks down excess amino acids to ammonia (deamination).

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(iv) Convert fatty acid and glycerol into fat which is stored around the body, e.g. under the skin. Thus
playing a major role in temperature regulation.
(iv) Produces cholesterol from fat.

Other functions:

(vi) Liver makes bile- whose function is to neutralize acid as it enters the small intestine and the
emulsification of fat.

(vii) The liver breaks down hormones that have circulated in the blood for a while.
(viii) It also breaks down harmful substances like alcohol and drugs.

KIDNEYS

They make up part of the urinary system. Kidneys are responsible for the excretion of urea, excess
water and excess salts from the body. They also control the water (osmoregulation) and ion (pH)
content of the body.

Kidney position:

They are located on top of the abdominal cavity underneath the diaphragm. They are protected by the
backbone, lower ribcage and the fat that surrounds them

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THE URINARY SYSTEM

The urinary system consists

of:
A pair of kidneys
A pair of ureters
A urinary bladder
A urethra

Blood vessels associated

with the urinary system
are:

Renal artery
Renal vein

If you cut open a kidney vertically you can see three

areas:

Renal cortex (a brown outer area)

Renal medulla (a reddish inner area)

The pelvis (a white area)

Inside each kidney there are thousands of tiny

tubes called kidney tubules or nephrons. The
function of the kidney tubules is to filter the blood,
remove waste chemicals and to determine how
much water is excreted in the form of urine. This
filtering process is carried out in the cortex.

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Structure of nephron/kidney tubule:

Renal artery: carries oxygenated blood, containing waste chemicals like urea into the kidneys.
Renal arterioles: inside the kidneys, the renal artery branches into renal arterioles. Each of these
arterioles supplies blood to a closely packed group of capillaries called glomerulus.
Afferent arterioles: blood vessel that enters into glomerulus
Efferent arterioles: blood vessel that comes out of glomerulus
Glomerulus: inside the glomerulus, blood flows under very high pressure. It is this pressure that
causes blood to be filtered.
Bowman’s capsule: Cup shaped region of the nephron which holds the glomerulus. It is in this
space the filtrate is collected.
Proximal convoluted tubule: The proximal convoluted tubule actively reabsorbs filtered glucose
back into the blood vessels.
Loop of Henle: it is the long U-shaped portion of the nephron. The principal function of the loop of
Henle is the recovery of water and some salts from the filtrate.
Distal convoluted tubule: They have an important role in the absorption of many ions and water
(depending on the water content inside the body).
Collecting duct: collects urine from the nephrons and moves it into the pelvis.
Renal vein: carries the deoxygenated blood, free of waste chemicals away from the kidneys.

URINE FORMATION
There are 3 main steps in the process of urine formation:
1. Ultrafiltration / glomerular filtration:
The process of ultrafiltration occurs in bowman’s capsule. Blood is filtered under high pressure
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 (due to difference in size of blood vessels entering and leaving the bowman’s capsule).
Glomerulus filters urea, salt, glucose and water from blood- this fluid is known as glomerular
filtrate.
2. Reabsorption:
The process of reabsorption takes place in the coiled tubes of nephron.
 proximal convoluted tubule
 loop of Henle
 distal convoluted tubule
All of glucose, some salts and much of water is reabsorbed from the filtrate into the blood
through the process of active transport.
3. Tubular secretion:
The remaining waste chemicals or excess water will be secreted into the filtrate from the blood.
The epithelial cells lining the nephron tubules are specialized to carry out active transport in the
following ways:
 Microvilli: provide a large surface area for absorption
 Numerous mitochondria: provide energy for active transport

FILTRATE TO URINE:

The resulting filtrate (fluid) is urea and excess salts dissolved in water. If the body is low in water,
water may again get reabsorbed. The final fluid reaching the collecting duct is URINE. Urine then
moves down to pelvis to reach ureter. From ureter urine moves to urinary bladder and is then
expelled our through urethra.