EXCRETION IN HUMANS.

Excretion is the removal from organisms of, the waste products of

metabolism, toxic materials and substances in excess of

requirements.

KEY COMPONENTS OF THE DEFINITION.

Excretion involve removal of:
 Waste substances. E.g CO2
 Toxic materials. E.g. spend drugs
 Substances in excess of the body’s requirements. E.g water.

J2015 P33 Q4.The lungs and the kidneys are excretory organs

of the human body.

(a(i) Define the term excretion [3]

 Carbon dioxide is a product of aerobic respiration and is excreted through

the lungs.
 Urea is formed in the liver from the breaking down of excess amino acid by
the process called deamination.
 Urea is excreted by the kidney.
 Excess salts, water and urea are excreted by the kidney and the skin.
NB: Urea and carbon dioxide are the main excretory products.

EXCRETORY ORGANS AND PRODUCTS.

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 EXCRETORY ORGAN TYPE OF WASTE EXCRETED
Lungs Carbon dioxide, water vapour
Kidney Urea, excess water, and mineral salts
Liver Bile pigments.
Skin Excess water, mineral salts and urea.

THE NEED FOR EXCRETION.

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 Some of the compounds made in reactions in the body are potentially toxic,
ammonia produced during deamination is very alkaline and toxic. Ammonia
is quickly converted to urea which less poisonous.
 Accumulation of carbon dioxide lowers pH in the tissue fluid and blood
plasma. Decrease in pH affects enzyme activity and can be fatal.

DEAMINATION.
Deamination – is the removal of the nitrogen- containing part of

amino acids to form urea.

 Excess amino acids cannot be stored, if they are in excess, they are
deaminated in the liver to form urea.
 Urea is transported by renal artery to the kidney for excretion.

THE ROLE OF THE LIVER IN EXCRETION

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 Deamination of amino acids -removal of nitrogen-containing part of amino

acids to produce urea which passes into blood to the kidneys for excretion.

 The liver breaks down hormones, antibodies, toxins, drugs and excess

vitamins.

 It also breaks down worn out red blood cells , excretory products are put in

bile.

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 THE URINARY SYSTEM

 Kidneys make up part of the urinary system.

 They are responsible for the excretion of urea and excess salts from the
body.
 Kidneys also control the water and ion content of the blood.

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IDENTIFY THE PARTS LABELLED A-F.

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 FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE VOLUME AND CONCENTRATION OF
URINE.

1.Water intake.
 The body gains water from food and drink.
 When a lot of water is taken in, excess water is filtered out the blood by the
kidney resulting in production of large volumes of dilute urine.

2.Temperature.
 On a cold day, sweating decreases so more water is from the blood by the
kidney, increasing the volume of dilute urine.
 On a hot day sweating occurs, a lot of water is lost, blood becomes more
concentrated, more water is reabsorbed.
 Less volume of concentrated urine is produced.

3.Exercise.
 Vigorous activity results in sweating.
 Loss of water through sweating increases the concentration of blood.
 More water is reabsorbed resulting in production of small quantity of
concentrated urine.

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STRUCTURE OF A KIDNEY.

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SIMPLIFIED DIAGRAM OF THE CROSS SECTION OF A KIDNEY.

THE THREE MAIN PARTS OF THE KIDNEY.

1. cortex,
2. medulla,
3. pelvis.
 Leading form the pelvis is a tube, called the ureter.
 The ureter carries urine that the kidney has made to the bladder.
 Kidneys are made up of thousands of tiny tubules, or nephrons.
 Each nephron begins in the cortex, loops down
.
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  Cortex - the outer region made up of Bowman’s capusles, convoluted
tubules and blood vessels (proximal and distal convoluted tubules).
 Medulla – The inner region made of kidney tubules.
 Pelvis - a funnel- shaped cavity that collects urine into the ureter.
 Ureter – a tube that carries urine to the bladder.
 Renal artery – supplies the kidney with blood from the heart via aorta.
 Renal vein – returns blood to the heart via vena cava.

SAMPLE QUESTION.
Identify the parts labelled K-P [6]

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 Sample question

J2015 P33 Q4 .The lungs and the kidneys are excretory organs of the human body .

(a(i) Define the term excretion .[3]

(ii) State an excretory product that is passed out through the lungs .[1]

(iii) Outline the role of the liver in excretion. [3]

(b) Fig. 4.1 is a vertical section of the kidney.

Fig. 4.1

Table 4.1 shows the functions of parts of the kidney.

Complete the table by:

• naming the part of the kidney that carries out each function

• using letters from Fig. 4.1 to identify the part of the kidney named.

One row has been completed for you.

Table 4.1

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SIMPLIFIED STRUCTURE OF THE KIDNEY TUBULE.

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STRUCTURE OF A KIDNEY TUBULE(NEPHRON).

The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney.

It is a narrow tube up to 14mm long .

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PARTS OF THE KIDNEY TUBULE( NEPHRON).
The nephron is made up of five parts:
1.RENAL CAPSULE
 The closed end of at the start of the nephron in the cortex .
 It is cup shaped and contains mass of blood capillaries known as the
glomerulus.
2.PROXIMAL(FIRST) CONVOLUTED TUBULE .
 It is a series of loops surrounded by blood vessels .
 Its walls are made off epithelial cells with microvilli and many
mitochondria.
 Microvilli provide large surface area for selective reabsorption of glucose
and amino acids.
 Mitochondria provide energy for active transport of glucose and amino
acids.
3.LOOP OF HENLE .
 It is a long hairpin loop that extends from the cortex into the medulla of the
kidney and back again.
 It surrounded by blood vessels.
4.DISTAL ( SECOND) CONVOLUTED TUBULE .
 It is a series of loops but is surrounded but fewer blood vessels.
5.COLLECTING DUCT.
 It is a tube into which a number of distal convoluted tubules empty.
 It becomes increasingly wider as it empties into the pelvis.

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BLOOD VESSELS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEPHRON.

AFFERENT ARTERIOLE .
 It is a tiny vessel that arises from the artery and supplies the kidney with
blood. The afferent arteriole enters the renal capsule of the nephron where it
forms the glomerulus.
GLOMERULUS .
 It is a branched knot of capillaries from which the fluid is forced out of the
blood. The glomerular capillaries recombine to form an efferent arteriole.
EFFERENT ARTERIOLE.
 It is a tiny vessel that leaves the renal capsule.
 It has a smaller diameter than the afferent arteriole and so causes an increase
in pressure within the glomerulus.
 The efferent arteriole carries blood away from the renal capsule and later
branches to form the renal vein.

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FUNCTIONING OF THE KIDNEY TUBULE (NEPHRON).
Urine is formed in two stages :
 High-pressure filtration(ultrafiltration)
 Selective reabsorption.
1. HIGH PRESSURE FILTRATION(ULTRAFILTRATION).

 Filtration occurs in the glomerulus.

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 The kidneys are very close to the heart so the blood pressure in the
renal artery is high.
 The blood vessel that entering the glomerulus is wider than the one
leaving it, so there is more blood entering than blood leaving it.
 This causes pressure to increase inside the glomerulus.
 This pressure causes the plasma of the blood to be filtered through the
pores on the wall of the capillary.
 The filtrate collects in the Bowman’s capsule/Renal capsule.
 The filtrate is called glomerular filtrate.
 The filtrate contains glucose, amino acids, salts, urea and water.
 Blood cells and proteins remain in the capillaries because they are too
large to pass through the pores.

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2. SELECTIVE REABSORPTION.

Selective reabsorption is when useful substances like amino acids and

glucose filtered out are absorbed back into the blood.

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  Selective reabsorption takes place in the folded part of the kidney
tubule called proximal convoluted tubule.
 As the filtrate flows down the kidney tubule, all useful substances
such as glucose, amino acids, salts and water required by the body
are reabsorbed back into the network of capillaries surrounding the
proximal convoluted tubule.
 The reabsorption process is against the concentration gradient
(active transport) and therefore, require energy from respiration
within the cells of the proximal convoluted tubules.
 Filtered blood returns to the vena cava via a renal vein.
 The remaining liquid, which is urine, passes down the collecting
duct to the renal pelvis and ureter carries the urine to the bladder
for storage.
 By the time it gets to the collecting duct, it is mostly water, with
urea and salts dissolved in its. It is called urine.
 The kidneys are extremely efficient at reabsorbing water.
 Over 99% of the water entering the tubules is reabsorbed.
 The relative amount of water reabsorbed depends on the amount
water is in the blood), and is controlled by secretion of the
hormone called anti -diuretic hormone (ADH.)

SAMPLE QUESTION.
NOV 2014 P32 Q2 (a) Define the term excretion. [3]
Fig. 2.1 is a diagram of a kidney tubule and its blood supply.

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 (b) The concentrations of solutes in the fluids at regions 1, 2, 3 and 4 were
determined. The
results are shown in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1

State the substance or substances in Table 2.1 which:

(i) has molecules which are too large to be filtered;
[1]
(ii) has molecules which are small enough to be filtered but is completely
reabsorbed from
the fluid in the kidney tubule
;[1]
(iii) increases in concentration as fluid moves along the kidney tubule.
.[1]
(c) State three structures through which the fluid from region 4 passes as it
leaves the body. [3]

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(d) One role of the kidney is to maintain the concentration of the blood
plasma.
Name the process of maintaining constant conditions within the body.
[1]

ADAPTATION OF THE CELLS FOR SELECTIVE REABSORPTION.

 Cells have microvilli to increase surface area for absorption

 Their cell membranes have many carrier proteins for active transport.
 Cells have numerous mitochondria to provide energy for active transport.

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J 2014 P33 5 Fig. 5.1 shows a cross-section of a kidney.
Fig. 5.1

(a) Name the structures labelled, E, F and G as shown in Fig. 5.1 .[3]
(b) Explain the function of the renal capsule in the kidney. [3]
(c) Glucose is reabsorbed, back into the blood, by active transport.
Define active transport [2]
(d) Give one example, other than glucose, of a substance that is reabsorbed into the blood from
the renal tubule. [1]
(e) Dialysis is a treatment for kidney disease.

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