Introduction
Excretion is the process of removal of harmful metabolic wastes from an
organism’s body. Excretion is useful in the following ways:
o Maintain correct ionic balance in the body
o Maintain correct amount of water in the body
o Toxic level rises in body leading to diseases
o Immunity is adversely affected
Major nitrogenous wastes in the body are:
o Ammonia
o Most toxic form of nitrogenous wastes
o Aquatic animals are Ammonotelic
o Excretion through body/ gill surfaces
o Urea
oLesser toxic than Ammonia
o Terrestrial animals are Ureotelic
o Excretion through Kidneys
o Uric acid
o Least toxic form
o Birds, insects & reptiles are Uricotelic
Human Excretory system
Human excretory system consists of:
o A pair of kidneys
o Located in the back of abdomen
o 2 kidneys present, one on either side of the backbone
o Bean-shaped
o Notch on the inner concave side called ‘Hilum’
o A pair of ureters
o Slender tubes arising from Hilum of Kidney
o Opens into urinary bladder
o Urinary bladder
o Pear shaped
o Muscular reservoir of urine
o Opens into Urethra
o Urethra
o Opens to outside through urethral aperture
o Longer in males than in females
Excretion in different animals
Excretion happens in different ways in different animals.
o Platyhelminthes
o Nematoda
o Annelida
o Arthropoda
o Mollusca
o Echinodermata
o Chordata
Excretion in Platyhelminthes
o Specialized cells, Flame cells are present
o Branched system of ciliated tubules are present throughout the body
o Flame cells are connected to a duct system of pores to expel wastes
o Maintain osmoregulation
Excretion in Nematoda
o Excretory pores are present
o Nitrogenous wastes are excreted in the form of ammonia
o ‘Renette glands’ are present in some marine nematodes to excrete
salts
Excretion in Annelida
o Specialized excretory organs, Nephridia are present
o A pair of nephridia exists in each segment
o Nephridia are segmentally arranged coiled tubules
o Types of nephridia:
o Septal nephridia
o Present on segment 15 to the last that open into
intestine
o Discharge waste products into alimentary canal
o Integumentary nephridia
o Present on lining of the body wall of segment 3 to the last
that open on the body surface
o Discharge waste products to the exterior
o Pharyngeal nephridia
o Three paired tufts in the 4th, 5th and 6th segments
o Discharge waste products into alimentary canal
Excretion in Arthropoda
o Malpighian tubules are present for Excretion
o Malpighian tubules are branching tubules connected to
hemolymph
o They collect wastes from blood & put into the intestine
o Wastes discharged through anus
Excretion in Mollusca
Nephridia are the primary excretory organs in many of them
o Discharge wastes in the form of ammonia/ uric acid
o Maintain water balance
Excretion in Echinodermata
o Specialized organs are absent
o Excretion occurs by diffusion through respiratory surfaces
Structure of Kidney
Average weight of a kidney is approx. 120- 170 gms. Important structures in
a kidney are as follows:
o Hilum
o Centre of the inner concave surface of kidney
o Ureter, blood vessels & nerves enter the kidney here
o Renal pelvis
o Funnel-shaped space inside the Hilum
o Receives urine from kidney nephrons
o Calyx
o Projections of the Renal pelvis
o Small hollow tubes to collect urine
o Minor calyces merge to form major calyces which in turn
form the hollow Renal pelvis
o Renal capsule
o Thin layer of connective tissue surrounding kidney
o Fibrous & transparent
o Tough layer ensures protection of inner soft tissues
o Provides shape to the kidneys
o Zones of kidney:
o Cortex
o Smooth outer zone
o Reddish in color
o Medulla
o Striated inner zone
o Reddish- brown in color
Nephrons
Nephrons are the functional units of kidneys. Each nephron acts as a
microfilter.
Structure of a Nephron
Nephrons are tubular structures. Each nephron consists of 2 parts:
o Glomerulus
o Network of very thin-walled blood capillaries
o Afferent arteriole brings blood into glomerulus
o Efferent arteriole drains blood out of glomerulus
o Renal tubule
Renal tubule has the following parts:
o Bowman’s capsule
o Double-walled epithelial cup-shaped structure
o Encloses Glomerulus
o Located in cortical region of kidney
o Proximal Convoluted Tubule
o Highly coiled tubular structure
o Located in cortical region of kidney
o Henle’s loop
o Descending & Ascending limb
o Located in medulla of kidney
o Distal Convoluted Tubule
o Highly coiled tubular region extending from Henle’s
ascending loop
o Located in cortical region of kidney
o Collecting Duct
o Straight tubular structure into which multiple
DCTs open o Extends from cortex to inner parts of medulla
o Multiple collecting ducts open into Renal pelvis
Process of Urine formation
Urine is the liquid by-product secreted by kidneys. Its main purpose is to
remove wastes like urea, uric acid & excess water from blood. The process of
filtration occurs in Kidneys. The basic filtration units are the nephrons. Each
kidney has a million of Nephrons packed together.
Urine formation occurs in three steps:
1. Ultrafiltration
2. Selective reabsorption
3. Secretion
Ultrafiltration
0. Filtration of blood takes place in the Glomerulus
1. Termed as ‘Glomerular filtration’
2. Blood reaches glomerulus by Afferent arteriole
3. Increased pressure of blood in glomerulus causes 3-layer
filtration of blood
1. Blood is filtered through 3 layers:
0. Endothelium of glomerular blood vessels
1. Epithelium of Bowman’s capsule (Podocytes)
2. Basement membrane
2. Fine filtration of blood through the 3-layered membranes is termed as
‘Ultra filtration’
0. 1100-1200 ml of blood is filtered by the kidneys per minute
1. Amount of the filtrate formed by the kidneys per minute is called
Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR)
Reabsorption
0. Almost 99% of the filtrate is reabsorbed by renal tubules
1. Useful substances are reabsorbed by epithelial cells of tubules &
sent back to blood
2. Wastes are absorbed from blood & sent to the filtrate
3. Water moves under osmotic pressure
4. Role of different tubules
1. Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT):
o Large amount of reabsorption of nutrients, water &
electrolytes occur here
o Presence of brush border epithelium increases surface area for
absorption
2. Henle’s loop
o Minimum reabsorption occurs here
o Important role in osmoregulation
o Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT)
o Conditional reabsorption occurs here
1. Collecting duct
o Large amount of reabsorption of water occurs here
Secretion
1. Cells of the tubules secrete substances into the filtrate
2. Maintains ionic & acid base balance of body fluids
3. Role of different tubules in Secretion:
o Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT)
o Selective secretion of H+, NH3, K+
o Henle’s loop
o Descending limb: Transport of water
o Ascending limb: Active/ passive transport of electrolytes
o Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT)
o Selective secretion of H+, NH3, K+
o Collecting duct
o Selective secretion of H+, K+
The overall process of urine formation:
o Substances like glucose, amino acids, salts and good amount of
water, are selectively re-absorbed as the urine flows along the
tubular part of nephron
o The amount of water absorbed depends upon the amount of wastes
in the body & the amount of excess water in the body
o Urine passes through the ureters to the urinary Bladder
o Gets collected in Urinary bladder till the pressure increases
o Finally passed out through the urethra
Excretory Disorders
o Uremia
o Urine in blood
o Cause: Urea & wastes accumulate in the body
o Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, weight loss, shortness of
breath, irregular heartbeat
o Kidney failures
o Cause: Kidney stops functioning which results in wastes
accumulation
o Symptoms: Shortness of breath, chest pain, headache,
weakness etc..
o Acute Kidney failures can be corrected by Kidney
transplant
o Renal calculi
o Cause: Formation of stones in kidney
o Symptoms: vomiting, pain in side of abdomen, chills,
fever
